Your Call
by the last place you look
Summary: Alice Brandon is angrily waiting for the love of her life to call her, to tell her he’s coming, to tell her he remembers something as simple as her birthday. All Human. Very fluffy.
1. Firstest

**A/N: Righty, hello everyone from the land of keyboards and empty bottles of lemonade. Ok, this is my first fanfiction, an All Human AU, and is, as you might have read on the summary, which was really sucky, an Alice fanfiction. All normal couples, but you'll need to wait patiently for A/J stuff. ****So without further ado, here is Your Call. **

**Disclaimer:** At the dawn of time, Stephanie Meyer, a intelligent, gifted writer and I, a scruffy, devious demon-child fought over the rights of the most important story of all time in an epic tug-of-war battle. Sad to say, Meyer has some serious guns. So, unfortunately, I have to tell you all that I do not own the rights to Twilight; these characters (besides the fact that I managed to magic them into humans) are not mine and I don't own them. But I am going to the gym ever now and then. So watch out Stephanie, Edward Cullen is as good as mine! –laughs evily-

…_Pfft-_ only in my imagination.

Your Call.

Chapter One:  
_Firstest_

* * *

**Alice**

I glanced at the luminescent clock that sat on my bedside table and ran my fingers over the slim mobile I held in my cold hand.

7:29

He was late. My love, my life, was late. I huffed impatiently.

"He said he would at least call…" I grumbled. "Not one of them has remembered me yet." I looked down at my mobile, not for the first, or last time, that morning.

It shivered in my palm.

_New text message_, my idiot phone stated the obvious.  
_From: Bella Swan_

_Hey Aly, wanted to wish you a happy birthday. May your day be bright, the cake be strawberry and the shoes be Prada. _While she didn't understand my obsession, the girl knew me too well not to tease me with shoes.  
_See you later birthday girl :)  
__Your clumsy, not-so fashion-fantastic friend-  
__Bella_

I smiled; trust Bella to wake up this early on a Saturday just to let me know she remembered. This made sense in a weird, ironic way. My first friend would be the first to text me.

Seconds continued to flow by me as I stared at the glowing green numbers of my bedside clock waiting and, without warning, memories of that first day came back to me… making me smile.

_It was my first day of kindergarten. I had waved for the camera and my teary eyed mother hugged my strangely (considering how short I turned out to be) tall father, clumsily tied my new pink shoelaces and entered my new "classroom" with a bright, happy smile on my face._

_The room had large, blank walls. There was a dusty fan on the ceiling that needed to be cleaned. There were many small plastic tables that had been painted either pink or blue, and matching stools, that had all be pushed up against the back of the room, furthest away from a larger, wooden table and swivel chair that was undoubtedly not meant for us. There were large, well loved beanbags dotted in front of the clean whiteboard that hung on the wall behind and slightly beside the wooden desk. It was, as a whole, ugly._

_The lady who, I assumed, was this "teacher" my father had told me all about, was writing words I couldn't comprehend on the large whiteboard. I recognized the letter M and the letter I, but that was all. Her writing was too loopy and her chunky frame blocked my view._

_The other little children glanced at me mournfully, believing that their parents had left them forever and would never come back. A few of them were crying. Others were eying each other or the teacher with strong distrust._

_I was of a different belief. This was me- Alice Brandon, on my first day of school. I was as sure of myself as I had ever been, or would ever be._

_I passed a little girl (who was taller than me) with pretty brown hair and eyes. She was holding back tears, while pleading to her mother not to go. Her mother glanced at a man who was standing a few steps away -her father, I guessed- awkwardly- a long standing tension running between them, and neither knew what to do._

_I stopped and took the small girl's sweaty hand._

_"Hiya, I'm Mary Alice Brandon," I introduced myself like my father had told me to that morning. "But you can call me Alice. We'll be best friends." This I was sure of. She was startled by my confidence, but my smile must have comforted her enough to let me pull her towards two empty beanbags that were lying near the other children. She followed me, smiling shyly and waved her free hand at her amazed parents, her troubles totally forgotten._

_"Hi. I- I'm Bella." She smiled again timidly, her nervous fingers clutching the edge of her T-shirt._

_My returning smile was dazzling, and together we faced our first day of school, with all the icky boys, the snooty girls and the (downright evil) smiling teacher._

_While the other kids arrived, I turned to my new friend and started questioning and stating at her at top speed. This was our first day of school after all, and while there would be other first days, I reasoned, this would be the firstest of the first. Make the most of it._

_"I like your shirt." I made a quick motion at the T-shirt design. "Smilies are my favorite and that one's yellow, which is a nice color, but pinks better I think. The blue background is pretty on you, too. D'ya like mine? Its pink." I told her sincerely, pulling my own shirt. This was important stuff. "And it also is purple. Like that dinosaur on the television in the lounge-room, but this one's lighter. My parents say it's a good show but I think its silly. He has a weird voice."_

_She nodded, a jerky motion. "Yes," her deep brown eyes finally meeting mine. "I don't like him," she confided, glancing around. "He's scary."_

_I giggled slightly, "Maybe, but not as scary as that lady." I grinned, pointing at the teacher. "She's got plastic yellow hair and too mush lipstick. I think shes t-ter-" I struggled to say the word my father sometimes used when talking about work- "teri- she's scary." I finished._

_"I don't like her nails." Bella agreed me, eying the woman's hands, "they look like claws."_

_"Maybe she's like the monster than lives under beds and stuff like-" The conversation would have continued in this fashion the teacher interrupted my important story with a breezy and obviously fake, happy voice._

_"Hello everyone! My name-" pointing at herself, putting a little too much emphasis on my in her attempt to make us like her- "is Miss Dahlenburg."_

_The class stared back blankly. I thought that the sandy-haired boy next to me had gone into shock._

_"…But you can call me Miss D._

_"Welcome to your first day of school." She told us in a slow, sugarcoated voice. Yes thank you for that; I wanted to say, annoyed, thanks for telling me something I already know._

_I had always had a strong personality, even back then. Probably from watching too many teenage television series when I was still learning words._

_I frowned as she continued._

_"Yes, school," she nodded, an exaggerated movement, "and we are going to have a really good time today. We shall all be friends and have fun and learn. Do we want to learn everyone?" she asked, unnecessarily loud. Yes, yes we can hear you._

_I few nervous people whispered, "yes", back to her._

_This wasn't what she wanted._

_"I can't here you!" She smiled, cupping her large, manicured hands behind her ear. "Yes Miss D." most of the class sang back to her._

_I looked sideways at Bella and pulled a face. She smiled and giggled, knowing what I meant._

_Her perfect pink lips curved into an even larger smile. "This is going to be a long day." She giggled again, her face going slightly redder as she smiled. She was pretty. "Thank you Alice," She told me in a more serious whisper as the teacher pointed out to the rest of the class that we were going to do paintings, mentioning that paint was paint, not food. "I think you're right, we will be friends."_

_"I'm always right, silly Bella, and we have aaall day-" a very long time, in my opinion back then- "to be friends."_

Too right. We were fast friends and stuck together as friends should throughout not only that day, but for the following thirteen years. My first, and best, friend.

Good times, I reflected, bringing myself back to the present.

I stretched me stiff legs out in front of me as my fingers darted across the keypad on my phone that many would consider too small.

If I told you that I was good with texting- I wouldn't have been bragging, so a few seconds later:

Send.

Now all that I can do is sit on my hands and wait. That and stare at my ugly luminous clock.

So that's what little, graceful old me did. Except for the stare part. It was more of a scowl, really.

* * *

**Bella**

_Buzzzz buzzzz, buuuuuzzzzzzzzz-_

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled stabbing at my alarm clock that was persistently humming at me, "you can shut up now."

I blinked through the sleep-induced haze that covered my eyes, yawned and stretched. When my eyes were clear, I glared at my clock.

7:26

"What was that for?" It stared back at me blankly, if not a little amused. It was taunting me; talking to an alarm clock. Again. Edward was right- talking to inanimate objects was unhealthy.

Now, I asked myself, why did you wake yourself up at this ungodly hour. Then it hit me.

Alice.

Still yawning I forced my bumbling limbs to drag themselves off of the bed I had been so comfortable in a few seconds before, to my bag where my brick-of-a-phone lived.

My clumsy fingers poked the numbers slowly as my sleep-deprived brain tried to put together a comprehensible happy birthday text.

Send.

I smiled despite my bad mood. Alice had been my first friend, and in a world that didn't understand me and my clumsy ways- her friendship was a priceless treasure. Without her, I would be only the smallest blip in a sky of stars. I continued to smile, suddenly content as I stumbled to the kitchen to fix myself breakfast.

It made me feel slightly better about myself, that despite everything that had happened to me, and that would happen to me, Alice would always stand by me. One bright star in the evening sky with a smaller glow next to it, seeming to be brighter than it really was because of the star.

I could remember our first day, a clear memory among many blurry ones. But, despite the kindness she had shown me, spontaneous, that memory wasn't my favorite. No, my personal favorite Alice moment was in our second year.

It had started with salt.

"_Charlie- pass the salt."_

"_Please."_

"_Please what?"_

"_Please pass the salt, Charlie. Of course, Renee. Why, thank you Charlie. No problem Renee."_

"_Ugh! Do you always have to be so picky? No- that's right your not picky. Not on the whole, are you Charlie? No- just where I am concerned."_

"_What?"_

Well, maybe it didn't start there. The tension had been growing ever since I had been born, the tension between my two parents. There had been many bickering arguments like this one. Sparks would fly; the fight would grow into something more serious. It always started with stupid little things like salt. Not and argument, they assured me afterwards. A discussion. Charlie would send me up to my room while they "discussed." These "discussions" sometimes went for hours. One particular night, like the other nights I couldn't stand it- the two people I loved, fighting. But the only thing that was different that time was that I did something about it.

So I slipped out the back door when they raised their voices to an unbearable volume and I went to the one person I could trust to hold my hand and cry with me.

Alice.

_I crept over to her window, which was luckily on the ground floor and tapped the window with the back of my knuckles._

_The curtains were swept back behind the ice-cold glass._

"_Bella?" She swung the window open, her dark eyes wide with surprise and… concern. My friend._

"_Oh, Alice!" I sobbed, reaching out to her with one hand, and trying to wipe my tears away with the other._

_She may have been (and always would be) small, but Alice had a lot of hidden strength. She pulled me through her window without a single question save one._

"_Oh, Bella. What will we do with you?" She brushed the hair out of my eyes and led me towards to smoldering fireplace in front of her unreasonably large bed. _

_She didn't say anything; she just let me lean my head on her small shoulder. She let me stain her silk pajamas with my tears. She would even hum soothingly ever now and then. She cried with me. _

_For me. _

_My pain was her pain. My friend._

That night was fairly fuzzy. When tears take up all your attention, time is meaningless. Her comforting wasn't, though. And that quiet evening that we spent lying on her pink fluffy rug by the dying fire stuck with me.

The tune of the Mexican Hat Dance interrupted me mid-bite through my toast.

_Sender: Alice Brandon._

Yes, yes- got it. Thank you Mr. Brick_. Argh_- you're doing it again, Bella, inanimate objects can't hear you, especially if the conversation is inside your head. I berated myself silently as I opened the text.

_Cinder-Bella, My not-so-fashion-tastic- friend- at least YOU remembered._

_Still waiting for the rest of the gang- not to mention that hopeless boyfriend of mine. _

_He is asking for my wrath by being late. _

_Your psychic fairy-god mother,_

_Alice._

Ah, so he's not there yet. I chuckled quietly. Hell hath no fury like Alice Brandon. Jasper had better watch himself whenever he decides to show his pretty little mug. I forced a glass of milk down, wrote a quick, messy note to Charlie, and attempted to get the truck started.

Maybe it would start first go, I tried to convince myself.

Not such luck, apparently.

* * *

**So Ta-Da, there, ladies and gentlemen, is the first chapter. Liked it? Maybe not? (not that I'd blame you). Reviews? Yes? No? Get lost? Ok, sure- just leave one.**


	2. My everything

**A/N: Ahaha! First I would like to make a _biiiigg_ thank you to everyone who reviewed, you few are awesome :)**

**Haha I feel like a kid at Christmas :) Presents for everyone!**

**Because it is Edward we are talking about there isn't as much "bright, happy stuff" in this chapter as I would like. Simply because its Edward. I'm not entirely happy with, but it had to be done. The next one is bound to be brighter.**

**This one took me a reasonably short time considering how long it is. Lookie! Its long! (At least for me). Just over seven pages on word! Yay!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the rights to Twilight. If I did, I wouldn't have shared them with the rest of the world. The Cullen boys would be locked in my room, and would spend all their free time feeding me grapes. So maybe, on the whole, its better that they're Stephanie's. _Wha-?_ What am I saying?!

Chapter Two:  
_My Everything_

* * *

**Alice**

_Alice_- I had resorted talking to myself- this was your idea. You _wanted_ to wake up this early and wait for a guy who, seemingly, isn't going to show. Get over it. It's no one's fault but your own. Suck it up, girl.

Despite feeding myself lines like these, I didn't make me feel any better. The hype after getting Bella's text had worn down after 10 minutes when I had long lost any hope of hearing the soft purr of my boy friend's car.

He wasn't going to show.

He was probably sleeping.

A deep throbbing ached my heart every time it pumped blood through my system, like I was missing something crucial. Air, water, food, sleep, air, water, food, sleep … Sure; I needed all of these to survive. But I needed _him_ to live.

My mother had often teased me by saying I had ADHD, but really I just got bored of my surroundings quickly when I was anxious or excited. So, it was reasonable that after five minutes playing games on my Nokia and five minutes of trying to comfort myself, I had lost my patience. Because of that, I was no longer lying on my bed while I waited for my knight-in-shining-armor, but on my pink fluffy mat because I had successfully took the covers off of my bed. I glared at the pile of pillows, sheets, blankets and mattress that was sprawled in the furthest corner of my room away from me. I was allowed to be anxious- it was my birthday, and my friends, bar one, hadn't bothered to get their lazy asses out of bed to wish be a good day. I pouted.

My eyes darted, of their own accord, to my bedside clock, which I now had a deep-set hatred of.

7:41

It was going slow on purpose, I decided.

Just as I had laid out my plans for disabling and slowly torturing my clock, my phone vibrated on the wooden floor beside my head.

Him? My thoughts were an unintelligible knot of abrupt delight, with only one word intelligible. _Him?_

_New Message:_

_Sender: Edward_

Hmph. I suppressed an eye roll, but couldn't stop the small smile that threatened to spread into a full-blown grin.

Despite the fact that _he_ hadn't called yet, I was slightly pleased that the strange pattern that had started with Bella continued so I opened my second-ever friend's text message without a further complaint, inside my head or otherwise.

_Good morning little pixie, and happy birthday.  
__No, we haven't forgotten, and the others will text you soon.  
__How do I know this? I'm a mind reader, of course :)  
__Head high, shortie, we'll be there soon.  
__Edward._

This was reasonably short for Edward; he was renown for writing entire letters via text-messages. The message he had sent me after I managed to con Bella to go to last year's end-of-year formal had been a little essay by itself.

Edward and I knew each other before school. Knew, but not well.

* * *

Carlisle Cullen, Edward's adopted father, was a renowned surgeon. Every hospital wanted him, and it was Forks that got the famous doctor. Partly because Esme, Carlisle's wife, wanted to live in a small town like she had been brought up in, but mainly for their son, Edward. Apparently, according to the good doctor, small town life was quiet and peaceful and had many health benefits.

I had met Edward for the first time at one of my mother's garden parties. Carlisle was handsome and charming, Esme was graceful and beautiful, but Edward was withdrawn and silent. Sure, he was only four, but so was I.

_I had looked at him from across the room and every time without fail, his green eyes would be fixed to his feet like they were the most important things in the universe._

"_Go and say hello, dear." My mother was a firm believer of socialising. It was good for the soul she told me. _

_So, like the good little angel I was (at the time), I skipped over to the silent, bronze hair boy who had refused to leave his mother's side since he had entered. _

"_Hello- I'm Alice."_

_He only nodded, his fingers digging into Esme's summer dress tighter._

"_Edward," Esme chided, "introduce yourself. There's a good boy." She placed he slim hand on his messy hair, reassuringly._

"_Hello."_

And, after a few lame attempts to open up this new clam I had found, I gave up. Clearly he wasn't going to crack anytime soon. Crestfallen, I gave up and returned to my doll collection.

* * *

This had upset me more than it should have, and that, I supposed in hindsight, was why I remembered such an _un_eventful event. I wasn't used to being brushed off by anyone, curtesy of my parents attentive upbringing and my own bright personality. But, more than that, I had pictured us as friends when I had spotted him, and it unnerved me that I could be dead wrong about anything.

But I was only a few years off, really.

* * *

That brought me to the first day of our second year, two years later. It was our _third_ first day of a school year (if you include Kindergarten, which many people don't) and little Edward's first.

_"- and then I told Mike he should pay more attention to his own maths paper. And then he said-" I was telling Bella all about the newest scandal involving Mike Newton when I heard her take a sharp intake of air. I looked up and followed her eyes; surely my speech wasn't that exciting- I hadn't even got to the best part- only to see a tall, gangly, bronze-haired boy who, despite the years, I recognised instantly. Edward Mason Cullen. The one who had dealt such a big blow to my self-confidence two years before. I pursed my lips slightly at the memory._

_He was looking pleadingly at his mother, who, I noticed with surprise, looked exactly the same as I remembered._

"_-another year at home… could start later…doesn't matter…" I could only just hear his smooth voice over Mike's loud boastings._

_Esme shook her head firmly and murmured something I couldn't hear and passed him his backpack. She swiftly pecked him on the cheek before exiting, not without a fleeting look of disguised panic over her shoulder when he wasn't looking._

_Class started, and the year 2 teacher, Mrs Leburn, shepherd him to the front of the class and made him introduce himself. Bella was still staring at him with wide eyes, I noticed with confusion, but I couldn't help but giving him a few furtive glances myself. He was exactly the same as he was two years ago, shy and oddly uneasy under the classes' gaze. I stifled a laugh. His nervous expression reminded me of a certain brown-hair girl next to me, except for when Bella was under pressure her cheeks went red instead of her ears._

"_I'm… Edward… Esme was teaching me at home… moved from… and, yeah." Once he was finished his eyes stuck to the carpet and refused to meet anyone's stare, not Jessica Stanley's one of awe, Mike's glare of irritation, Mrs Leburn's of concern... Not even mine. He did, however look up when he passed Bella, and I would have sworn I saw a small smile creep across his drawn-out features. Bella on the other hand, stared doodling on her math book's cover, her cheeks pooling with red._

_It was no surprise, well, it _shouldn't_ have been anyway, when he sat next to her for lunch in the school yard._

_Or in the usually empty seat on her other side from me. _

_Once again, not really exciting. It irked me slightly, once again forcing the memory to stay with me. Annoying little Cullen refused to talk to anyone, including me, until he met Bella Swan, my one and only friend, and suddenly, Edward Cullen's shoes weren't the most important things in the universe._

I clung to this memory, in particular. And while this memory had nothing to do with me, it gave me a certain hope that I would meet someone who could become my shoes, my universe, my everything.

* * *

I chuckled at the thought. It was hard, for the first few weeks to share my best friend with anyone, especially a _boy._

I quickly sent a short text before turning on the radio that sat on the kitchen counter. Despite everything, Edward and I had a strong and shared understanding. Bella. My friend and his, well, _his_ Bella. So, until we got to know one another for who we were, besides being Bella's friends, we accepted one another with mutual neutral-ness. If that's even a word.

But, it turned out that, a few conversations grew with real interest, and soon we got along as well, or even better, than I had thought those years before, until I could finally say I had met my second ever friend. Edward Cullen.

_New Message. _

_Sender: Edward._ I laughed. That boy was quick, quicker than Bella was anyway.

_Haha, very funny.  
__Coming over now. I know you must be getting seriously lonely sitting all by yourself in an empty house waiting for J.  
__Don't break anything.  
__Edward._

I glanced at the pile of mattresses and pillows and smiled ruefully. Too late.

* * *

**Edward**

I had been unable to sleep. Again.

I should really drink less coffee, even if it was with Bella.

Maybe decaf next time.

7:40

Alice time.

I chuckled. If Alice had it her way, every time would be Alice time.

Refraining from writing the proper text I wanted to, that Alice teased me about so often, I quickly jabbed in a birthday wish text message.

Send.

_There, now I can get ready for Bella. _That thought cheered me up extremely. Alice would want to tease and make fun of me, share some stories about my awkward childhood and, if I wasn't careful enough, try some of her new make-up on me. Thanking whatever god or gods that had made Jasper Alice's boyfriend instead of me, I scooped up Alice's present and swept and pocketed up the Volvo's keys.

"Be back later, Esme. I'll call you." I sang over my shoulder to my mother who was, no doubt, gardening in the back.

I slid into the car, attempting to protect Alice's present with my arm from the heavy rain, and pulled out of the driveway. The tires squealed slightly as I made a tight turn onto the main road, going too fast again. The stereo filled the car with the CD I had been listening to when I had dropped Bella off after school the previous afternoon. Clair de lune. I sighed. I was reminded of a memory that wasn't really that old. A year, maybe, ago. Had it been only that long ago? Days with Bella lengthened them from a few hours to years. _I could spend forever with that woman_, I chuckled.

Clair de lune had been playing on one particular night_, that_ particular night. I hadn't put it on since then until the day before, simply because it made me remember, just like now, of one of my more treasured memories with the birthday girl.

* * *

It had been raining, not unusual since we did live in Forks, but that night it bucketed down; every drop pelted the roof of the Volvo as I made my way to the only person who I could trust not to tell _her. Her_ friend since kindergarten, someone I had come to trust in my first year of school. Alice Brandon.

_I gripped the steering wheel with more force than was necessary as his face filled my head yet again. _Yes_, I ground my teeth together, I needed help before I exploded and ruined everything. _

_The Brandon house (mansion more like it) was huge. Tall, white walls protected all the dozens of rooms that lay behind them. This house had been inherited through the Brandon family for several generations. On the few rare sunny days this house loomed over everything, beautiful and intimidating. But like most days, when it rained, the house made the small warm lights that were always on in the windows look inviting, comforting almost._

_But all I could see on that evening was the rain soaked walls, stonily staring back at me._ Go away_, they told me in very easy to understand terms. I pulled myself out of the warmth of the Volvo and silently prayed that the inhabitants would be more understanding._

Stupid,_ I berated myself again, almost turning back, _there isn't a problem_. No problem except you. My finger hovered over the doorbell as I debated, my shirt getting drenched with rain: press and spill your guts, or turn back and deal with it. I was about to turn away when one of the windows swung open._

"Edward?" Well, there goes that idea, I thought grimly, there's no hiding anything from the town psychic. There was no surprise in her dark eyes as she looked at me, but maybe there was a small smile on the edges of her thin lips.

_She motioned me towards the open windowsill before turning back into the house. She glanced back over her shoulder when I paused._

"_Well, aren't you going to come in?" she raised her dainty eyebrows._

"_Shouldn't your parents know?"_

_She smiled and laughed quietly. "They're out. Come on in."_

_I hesitated, but throwing whatever gentlemanly instinct had been holding me there I climbed through._

"_So, Eddie," she smiled at the nickname, "pull up a bit of fluffy pink rug. Or," she chuckled again, "does your manliness prevent you?" _

"_Trust me, Alice, being found sitting on you pink rug will be the least of my problems if your parents come home to find a strange boy in your room."_

_She shook her head, "Not here, remember? Like I said, they won't catch you." She tapped he side of her head._

"_Psychic."_

_A slight edge of impatience came into her expression as I stalled. I fidgeted under her clear-cut gaze._

"_Come on Edward, spit it out." She had always been strangely impatient with me whenever I refused to say anything straight away. I thought that maybe, secretively, Alice still had a bruise from where I had refused to talk to her like other normal people._

"_Jacob." I blurted, before catching myself. It wasn't very tactful, or detailed, but Alice's expression told me that she understood without anything else. Her expression regarded me with a slight smugness about it._

"I told her_." She muttered more to herself than to me. Her eyes met mine with a glimmer of excitement, "So Edward, go ahead, spill your guts. Keep in mind I saw this coming from the first day." Yes, defiantly smug._

So that's what I ended up doing. I told her all about my obsession that had been growing since that first day in their second year, about how I had nearly bit off my own tongue when vile Mike Newton had asked her to the Spring dance the year before, how I had to stop myself from glaring when she attracted attention of passers by, how I had been nursing a deep set loathing for Jacob for no reason except for the fact that he had brought her flowers for her birthday, how he had taken her to the cinemas the previous month, how I, Edward Cullen, had been reduced to envy. Yes, I was green with it.

_It was shameful to voice all my inner workings to anyone, but Alice was a good listener. She nodded to herself whenever I shared something she had seen or had figured out, she smiled sadly when I admitted I didn't see any one else except for _her_, and patted me on the back reassuringly when my throat constricted when I tried to say exactly how much she meant to me._

"_I- I just don't want to ruin it for her. It tears me apart when I see him with her, but she _looks_ happy. I feel inadequate. No- more than that- Alice, what can I do? Swallow my pride and -?"_

_Her eyes became flinty when I said this._

"_Edward Anthony Mason Cullen, listen to me. You are not, and will never be inadequate. Edward- _look_ at me." She ordered, "Suck it up. You are being such a baby." She frowned, glaring slightly. "You," she poked me in the chest accusingly, "over think _everything_. With your charming good looks, gentlemanly politeness, and that heartbreaking smile that mellows most girls inside out, you could catch any fish in the sea, even allowing your cry-baby howling." She teased, lightening the mood, "Any fish Edward; from clown fish, to trout, they're yours. Trout, Edward, trout." She said it with such sincerity, I couldn't help but laugh._

"_There, that's better." She approved, "_this _is the Edward any lady would want."_

"_Alice, are _you_ a lady?" I wiggled my eyebrows, feeling slightly better. She set herself up for that one. _

She chuckled, and shook her head, smiling. "No, that would feel too much like incest for my liking."

_We laughed for a while before she controlled herself._

"_But, seriously Edward, just be yourself. And I know exactly how we are going to do this."_

"_We, Alice?"_

_She grinned wickedly. "You couldn't pull this one off on your own, _Eddiekins_. This will have to be a team effort." Her eyes were already far away, seeing something I couldn't. An effortless smile lightened her small features._

"_And what would this plan be, dear little psychic?"_

"_One word, Edward._

"Valentines."

* * *

I chuckled, bringing myself back to the present. That proved it: Alice _was_ a miracle maker

It turned out that Bella had been watching me for while. Ever since Year 2, according to the blushing beauty. I shook my head, grinning with ecstasy. It seemed impossible to me that I could call someone as perfect as Bella as my own.

I owed Alice for that.

I was humming to myself as I continued to listen to Debussy and, as the final note played through the cars speakers I noticed a large, red truck stuck on the side of the road. It's owner, a thin brunette was shouting at the machine, making exasperated hand gestures at the piece of metal. I turned the steering wheel, feeling (_yes_ apparently it was possible) even better.

She turned around as she heard the sound of my car pull over behind her. Her chocolate eyes met mine, brimming with sudden delight. She beamed and even though I couldn't hear her voice over the rain, her lips formed into an unmistakable "_Edward_", and, after picking up her purse, she ran, grinning ear to ear, to the passenger seat door.

Yes, I owed Alice a lot.

* * *

**Yay! _Gooo_ Edward! I can see cheerleaders with their pompoms, streamers everywhere, fireworks, cake … chocolate cake. I don't care that Alice likes strawberry :( That's just who she is. That's just who I am. **

**No, there will be no more Jacob.**

**Review people! _–throws imaginary cake everywhere-_**


	3. Sexy Back

**A/N: Ahaha, some of the first readers might have noticed that the last chapter was titled "Sexy Back" in the chapter contents (the box in the right corner, that's as best as I can describe it), but that's been fixed- it was meant to be "My Everything", and lying in bed and about to go to sleep I realized my mistake. Oh well. **

**Right, this chapter was a real pain in the ass to write. Emmett is so confusingly simple it's confusing…. Argh! _See!_ See what he's doing to what little intelligence I have left?! Anyway, after last chapter, I thought that I couldn't write a longer one, at least not one about Emmett and… I was surprisingly wrong. It slowly grew without me noticing. It was originally much shorter, but I found other things had to be said. Haha, look- every chapter is getting longer as I go! Don't worry- it probably won't keep going like this- I can't keep it up. This chapter will jump arond a little so connect the bold "..."s. they add together roughly, just from different POVs. ****Rosalie's will probably be shorter, probably. Edward's a hard act to follow, but here it is. Ta-da!**

**Oh, and one of the songs mentioned is called "Your Call" from Secondhand Serenade, which, while it isn't my favorite of favorites, its title gave me the name of this story. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. I don't own Emmett, Rosalie, Alice (they're Stephanie's), the song: "Your Call", or, as much as I wish I did, "Sexy Back"… Woe is me.

Chapter three:  
_Sexy Back_

* * *

**Alice**

I drummed my fingers on the side of my stereo as it tired to decipher the CD I had slipped into it. Just when I was going to give the hunk of plastic a well deserved kick it hummed cheerfully. Finally. I skipped to the song I wanted.

Play.

The soothing opening notes of my favorite song, Your Call, echoed through the empty kitchen. I sighed and waited. To amuse myself I was reduced to throwing my phone up at the ceiling and catching it, repeating the cycle over and over, hoping that the inanimate phone was actually shrieking with fear. Serves it right.

"_Waiting for your… call I'm sick- call I'm angry- call I'm desperate for your voice, listening to the song we used to sing in the car_…" I murmured quietly as the song played. The song seemed all that more relevant to my current situation, I mused.

All this was simply to distract myself. To send my thoughts somewhere other than his _face, his smile, his voice…_

The Nokia hit the ceiling with a dull _thud_, I caught it with a small smile and inspected it. No new scratches or dents. _Hmph._

But there _was_ a new message.

Wondering at how long it had been sitting in my inbox for without me noticing, I checked the sender ID.

_Emmett_.  
_Happy birthday pixie.  
__Feel any older? Spot any wrinkles yet? Ooh, I bet you have.  
__I am soooo coming over.  
__Watch out pixie-  
__I know where you live._

I laughed quietly. That was _so_ Emmett- so immature, so teasing. I was slightly cheered by the fact that I would soon have company.

Suddenly more motivated, I skipped into the empty kitchen humming along with the simple tune that had continued to the chorus. Taking a deep sip of orange juice, my thoughts returned to Emmett.

I had always noticed Emmett. It was hard not to. He was loud, big and slightly smelly, but in our first few years of school, somehow he managed to stay far enough away from the three of us, Bella, Eddie and I, to only be acquainted. Then again, he was a boy, and it was common belief among the girls that boys had icky germs that could make you sick. Edward had always been too prissy to be counted among the others. He had been widely accepted to be the exception.

But, as the years went by, there was another reason that we didn't know Emmett McCarty so well.

Being a big, strong kid with a sense of humor, Emmett had been accepted into Tyler Crowley's little "gang". Sure, they weren't the kind of gang you automatically think of when you hear the word. By gang, I mean that's what Crowley called it. Troublemakers, really.

At least to start off with.

Crowley became slightly bitter at the beginning of our fourth year. A bitterness that seemed to grow over time. And it didn't take much to realize why. The teachers had talked with his parents over the holidays and they had decided that it would be more "beneficial" for everyone if Tyler stayed back a year. _Pfft_- yeah right, it turned out to be just the opposite.

And troublemaking took on a new meaning.

* * *

"_Crowley- give me my bag back._

"_Crowley- now!"_

_He only laughed._

"_Eh- look the pixies grumpy." He turned back to his friends, holding my pink backpack high above his head, just out of reach._ Sure, this wasn't what you would call a fantastic putdown but we were only in the beginning of our fourth year._ Tall Emmett McCarty watched on, one among many. The only one who didn't laugh, but, then again, he didn't _do_ anything. Just sat back, and watched. As usual._

_Bella struggled to get to Crowley, her cheeks a bright red. Even Edward, cool, collected Edward, was furious. His usually smooth expression was livid._

"_Crowley, don't-" His words were lost in the rabble's noise. My friends fought against Tyler's "friends". They were tall enough to snatch my bag back, but clearly, Crowley wasn't having it._

_He laughed, lifting my bag higher as I jumped. His wicked grin grew as he was struck with a brilliantly stupid idea. His dark eyes darted towards the block only a few feet away…_

**…**

* * *

I was born an only child, but despite that, it was easy to consider my friends as members of my family I never knew I had. If Bella was my mellow, caring (if not a little clumsy) sister, and Edward was my younger; annoying brother (who had developed unhealthy attachments to his other sister) Emmett would have been my protective yet all so lovable older brother. He wasn't a small kid, even growing up he was huge, and when we became friends in our fourth year, he made it his job to look after us.

I was brought out of my head by the crunching sound of tires on the driveway. I leapt to my feet and ran out the door.

The silver car that had been purring in the early morning drizzle stopped and Bella pulled herself out of it, nearly sending herself into the bushes that lined the driveway.

"Alice!" Her arms were around me before I could get another word in. Over my taller friends shoulder, I saw Edward climb gracefully out of the drivers side, smiling.

"Happy Birthday, Alice." His musical laughter filled the previously quiet garden.

And I was starting to believe it, too.

* * *

**Emmett**

**…**

"_Tyler—Tyler don't!"_

_He only laughed as he moved closer towards the gurgling toilet. The bag still hoisted high in his long arms, he unzipped it. He then turned back to us, his audience of exited onlookers. Being short had never stopped Alice from doing anything, until that moment. _

_Leaping higher, her fingers skimmed over the very edge of the smooth plastic material that made up her pink backpack. She yelled out in desperation. This only seemed to make the others laugh harder. I couldn't do anything but stand there and stare as an internal battle of what was _right_ and what was _familiar_ waged on inside me. I vaguely noticed Edward and Bella, Alice's friends, still struggling at the edge of the growing crowd, their voices lost in the din. _

_Tyler grinned even wider as the callings egged him on. The bag began to tip towards the gushing toilet water and one of the books inside started to slide from out of it._

_Something inside me broke at that moment._

_Standing there, doing nothing. Pitiful. I was no better than that monster._

_Despite the yelling and pleading my voice was suddenly audible._

"_Tyler. Don't." My face was suddenly hard. I suddenly realized exactly how tall he was, and how scary his usually laughing features could be._

_Tyler almost dropped the bag in surprise._

"_Em- what are you doing?"_

"_Yeah- McCarty. What's wrong?"_

"_Losing his nerve."_

"_Weak."_

_The skin around my eyes tightened angrily. "I'll tell you what's wrong- you are Tyler. _This_ is wrong. What are you thinking?" I growled, taking another step towards the now frozen Crowley. "This isn't her fault. Put the bag down. I am sick of all this. All of it. It's pathetic."_

_Tyler composed himself slightly. He sneered. "What? You choose them over us? And you ask what's wrong with _me_!" He ground his teeth together slightly before continuing. He steeled himself. "I always knew you were useless, McCarty." He upturned the pink bag and I watched in horror as the contents fell out of it in slow motion. There was a loud growl and my large hand swiped at the bag. Baseball with my Dad had sharpened my reflexes, I noticed with dulled surprise._

_Alice could only stare at the mess of paper and colored pencils that was now mixed with toilet water as Tyler's crew exited sneering and jeering at her._

_Bella and Edward watched them file past with stony expressions. When the horde had gone they hurried over to their friend._

"_It's ok, Alice. It's ok…" Bella wrapped her arms around her small shoulders while she stood there empty. Her usually bright happy face was pale with shock. Her shoulders that were supported by Bella were curved in towards her core, protectively._

"_What was that McCarty?"_

"_That, Edward, was what I was. What I am." It was the truth, and it disgusted me._

_I only vaguely heard Edwards exclaim angrily as I turned away to look the broken girl in the eye._

"_Alice."_

_She looked up, pale and exhausted. There was no curiosity in her expression, in fact, there _was_ no expression. She was crushed._

_I took her shoulder gently. "I'm sorry. No- that doesn't even cover it." I shook my head, furious. I had never hated myself more than at that moment. I loathed what I had become. "It was stupid, I should have done something-"_

"_Damn straight-"_

"_Hang on, Cullen, I'm not done yet." I held up a massive hand. "I can't do anything to make it up to you. I know that. But I hope you can take my apology. That's all I can really give you." My face was serious as I handed my bag, with still a few items left in it. "That, and a promise that he will never bother you again." My eyes bored into her dark blue ones, filled with un-spoken apologies._

_She sniffed, looking down at what I had saved for her._

"_Oh, Emmett."_

_I heard Bella and Edward's cries of shock as she threw arms around me. I stood there shocked, but had enough sense to take the acceptance. _

"_I'm sorry. So sorry…"_

* * *

The phone in my pocket shuddered, making a slight buzzing sound waking me.

I pulled it, with difficulty, out of my back jean pocket.

7:30

_Wow, the alarm on my phone had actually done its job._

I glanced down at the stunning beauty that was sprawled over most of the couch. Her blond hair was streaming all around her, and only a slight crease between her eyebrows kept her from complete undulated magnificence. I sighed. As much as I wanted to lie and watch her sleep a little more (even if it was creepy), I had to get up.

I untangled myself from her arms, yawning and stretching.

There was only one person today that would stop me from watching my personal miracle, and that was Alice. Grumbling, I reminded myself that today was Alice's special day and it was my duty, as her not-really-blood-related older brother to make it perfect for her.

I reached for the TV remote that was sitting on the arm of my green, well-worn sofa, next to her head and flipped the volume up loud. _Really _loud. She stirred, flipping over so her back faced the TV and grumbled irritably.

Chuckling, I darted out of the room; phone in hand, hoping sleeping beauty wouldn't turn into the big bad wolf.

On second thoughts… that might actually be really sexy.

My head was full of really racy images of Rose suited up in a wolf costume as I skidded into the kitchen. I pulled out a frying pan and cracked a few eggs, knowing Rose would want my head if I had woken her up and had no breakfast.

_Not enough oil in eggs, _I decided, and threw in a few strips of bacon, too.

I sniggered at what Alice would have said if she knew I thought of food like that. She had picked up an odd trait of eating healthily in the morning. "Fuel for the fire… or maybe the fashion. Yeah- that sounds about right." She had muttered to herself the last time I had gone to her house for breakfast.

One of my more treasured memories of Alice was in the cafeteria, actually.

* * *

It was in out sophomore year.

It had been snowing. A rare thing, even in Forks. Edward and I had been fighting in the epic snow war that raged in the parking lot. Newton could never do anything right, except for organizing snow fights.

_We trudged into the cafeteria grinning and laughing. I was puffing from the effort. Edward was as pale as ever, even after running around. _

_Bella and Alice had decided to pass on the fight. Bella plus snow equaled disaster. It didn't take an Einstein to figure that one out. Alice had refused, saying: "my hair was fine as it is- totally snow-free"._

_I spotted them sitting in the usual spot, and after grabbing a packet of chips and a pizza I took my usual seat next to the pixie._

_She spared one disapproving glare at my dripping wet coat before returning to her debate with Bella. Something to do with Stanley and Spanish._

_I was busy with pulling the pineapple off of my precious pizza, which took all of my concentration- I was certain that the cooking ladies hid the gross yellow fruit under the perfect bacon strips just to annoy me. So when Edward's hand disappeared into a large pocket of his book bag, I didn't notice._

Smack._ A large, dripping ball of snow smashed the top of my head, settling into my curly hair. Disgusted, I shook my head, removing all traces of snow from it. _

_And straight onto Alice._

_She gave me the death stare as her inky black hair dripped into her eyes. Edward was doubled over in laughter. Even Bella allowed herself a slight chuckle._

"_You are so dead, McCarty."_

_Her hand darted towards my food and scooped up the pile of sticky pineapple I had removed from my pizza and threw it._

_To her credit most of it hit me in the face._

_Unfortunately the remaining fruit squares landed in a large seniors perfectly gelled hair._

_He looked over his shoulder and spotted Newton, who had been watching, and was doubled over in laughter. The senior, thinking it was Mike, threw the remnants of his sandwich at him, succeeding to hit several others in the process._

"_Food fight!"_

_It reminded me of one of those fights you see in feel-good high school movies. Colorful food flew everywhere. People at Forks High, not including the football team, were fairly uncoordinated. So when food hit other uninvolved people, those people sought revenge on the throwers- thus the fight grew to included everyone. _

_Lunch was entirely spent on fighting. It continued until the cafeteria women ran to get help, and got the teachers involved._

_Sure, we got detention for a week, but it was so worth it. Alice and I beamed at each other. We picked at the fantastic collection of peas, pineapple and cold scrambled eggs that was smeared over our previously clean clothes, as we were reprimanded. _

Ah, good times.

* * *

Grinning ear to ear I typed a quick message to Alice, the smell of cooking bacon and eggs only making the memories that much more real to me.

"_I'm bringing sexy, back. Yeah_!" I sang at the top of my lungs as I prodded the bacon with a knife.

"You most certainly wont be when I am through with you."

I laughed openly as Rose entered the kitchen. Her hair was a mess and her makeup was smudged. She glared at me fiercely.

"Eggs and bacon for waking me up at-" she checked her DKNY watch "-ten to eight in the morning! Emmett! _What the-_ ooh." She stopped, her hand inches away from hitting me in the head. There was no doubt in my mind about how heavy that blow would have been. Rose never kidded around.

She stared right through me, understanding. She smiled slightly, pleased with herself.

"Alice." She finally met my eyes.

"Alice." I agreed.

She was quiet for a while as she watched me push the bacon around the frying pan and scoop the eggs out of the crackling heat.

"Your parents?"

"Out- they left for work. And no-" I interrupted her when she opened her mouth, "they don't care that you stayed the night. We were in the lounge. The walls are thin. They would've known if anything _interesting_ happened." I chuckled, "They don't trust me, but they _do_ trust you. At least, they trust us not to do anything inappropriate on those couches." I grinned, wiggling my eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah- cause its not like _that_ would ever happen." She grinned devilishly, hunting for her hairbrush in her purse.

"There we go, your majesty," I made a low bow as I served her breakfast, "eggs and bacon."

She clapped her hands mockingly.

"You can do that for me every morning." She laughed reaching for the knife and fork I was handing her.

"Really? You plan on staying around for that long?" I must have sounded like a five-year-old, like I normally do, but I was seriously sincere.

Her usually flinty eyes melted and she reached over to place her hand on my cheek.

"Of course." Her smile was soft and warm for a second before it turned more teasing. "Tyler Crowley wouldn't bow for me."

"Hmph- being compared to Crowley. Rosie, you're hurting my ego."

"Serves you right." She countered, stabbing a piece of bacon with her fork. "You were the one who woke me with a blast of CNN that should have burst my ear drums."

"Key word, Rosie-"

"What, 'nearly'? Maybe I should rephrase-"

"No. 'CNN'. The news is an important part of society and that rubbish should be shared with Americans everywhere."

"…You're an idiot."

Breakfast continued like that until she ordered me to get dressed in "big boy clothes." She took another five minutes to get ready after I was done, then we walked to the car. The sky glowered down at us as we crossed the small space between my front door and the car, but the morning's rain had passed. The sky glowered down at us as we crossed the small space between my front door and the car, but the morning's rain had passed.

I stuck the keys into the ignition and was about to start the car when my phone vibrated for the second time that morning.

_New Message.  
__Sender ID: Alice Brandon_

_Thank you McCarty, being called "pixie" – not to mention insinuating that I was turning into an old bag- on my birthday is wonderfully considerate of you.  
__But then again, its probably the best a dull-witted, thick shake gurgler like you could come up with._ This was Alice's way of saying 'thank you' to me.  
_Besides, if anyone is getting old and wrinkly, its you. Remember? You are actually older than me.  
__Hmph- take that.  
__And sure, you know where I live- but __I__ know where dad's baseball bat is. Not to mention the cooking knives.  
__Love, Alice._

I chuckled. That girl cracked me up.

"Who was that from?"

"Alice." I glanced over at Rose, who was pouting slightly.

"Ah, thanks for reminding me." She pulled out her phone. "Damn it- start up, will you? _Thank you_, stupid machine…" she grumbled at the anorexic machine in her hands, attacking the number pad with her perfect nails. I watched her struggle for a few seconds before pulling the car into reverse.

"_If that's your girl you better watch your back. Cause she'll burn it up for me and that's a fact. Yeah!" _I sang, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel as I drove past my house. Rosalie laughed.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! I do love Emmett, he's the giant teddy bear I never had… Ok, sorry about making Tyler the bad guy, but someone had to do it. Mike is too stupid to be mean, Ben is a good guy cause he's with Angela and Eric is… Well, he's Eric. I couldn't really make new people- the idea seemed even less appealing to me than turning Tyler to the dark side.  
I could've**** made a new person; name them something similar to the person in mind and viola! An evil OC. I didn't want to do that. What if that person read it? Does that make you just as bad? I don't know.  
****Tyler _is_ based off someone I met in an earlier life, but this way it isn't too obvious or incriminating. They changed their ways, and so does Tyler. At least in my head he does, anyway.**

**Review! Come on, you know you want to :P**


	4. Cinderella

**A/N: Ok, this one is going be a little different from the other ones because its really just another POV from the last chapter.  
****Haha, look at this! It even longer than I thought it as going to be! Nine pages long on Word! Wow. God, this is going to take a long time for me to check over…  
****Ok, I would like to do a shout out to all those people who have reviewed: thank you! It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside :D And for those who are following the story anyway, I'd like to thank you guys too, and I shall continue to pester you to review. Call me evil, but that's the way I am :D**

**Disclaimer:** I do not claim ownership over these characters, the song, "River Flows in You", CNN, Shelton's Park Public Library or any of apple's ipods... I dont even own a winning lottery ticket... So there. Although, I _do_ own a pair of "Cinderella" shoes. Hehe, fun.

**Chapter four:**  
_Cinderella_

* * *

**Alice**

"Eeeeeepp!" I couldn't help but squealing when I opened Edwards gift. I ripped the remains of what had been beautiful wrapping paper and pulled the gift out of its case, holding it above my head triumphantly.

Bella grinned. "Ali, its an ipod- not a winning lottery ticket."

I shrugged, ripping the last of the paper off of the large matching speaker set, and grinned. "Same difference."

I could distantly hear Edward and Bella talking and laughing, no doubt teasing, but the words were lost on me as I flicked down the song list Edward had so kindly put on there for me.

_A, B, C, D … P, Q, R_. I nearly dropped the ipod.

River Flows in You. A piano piece from Yiruma.

My insides were suddenly frozen in place, the bottom of my stomach dropped and my throat constricted painfully.

* * *

"_Alice." His lips were only inches away from my ear. I could feel his cool breath gently caress my cheek when he exhaled. His fingers, so gentle, burned against any part of me he touched: my waist, my cheek…I was never as alive unless I was in his arms. I was in heaven. The music continued to play in the background as he spun me slowly around, his soothing voice hummed along with the melody. _

_Looking into his bottomless blue eyes, I could have been in the middle of New York, on top of the pyramid of Giza, at the bottom of the ocean instead of the school gym, and couldn't have cared less. Under his adoring gaze I felt whole- worthwhile- beautiful, even. _

_We were surrounded by other dancing couples, all of them were staring at us with wide eyes. I ignored them absolutely. I had all of the world I needed in his loving arms._

"_Alice," my other half, my angel, whispered my name again, "_my_ Alice…" Breaking eye contact with me as he kissed me tenderly on the forehead. I closed my eyes, lost in a world of bliss…_

* * *

_Pull yourself together, Alice_. Where had the independent, self-reliant, free Alice gone? This boy had me tripping over such small things…

"Bella?" I asked her, eyes wide, still smiling, but with less authenticity. My friends didn't need to know I was secretly drowning in my own memories.

My fingers walked themselves over towards where the roughly rectangular tightly wrapped present lay, somewhere behind her on the kitchen bench. She grinned and her hand crushed my hand flat on the table with no force.

"No- not yet. We should wait a little longer for the others." She smiled, a slightly nervous edge to her voice.

Laughing quietly, Edward escaped to my room and was making fun of my CD collection.

"Brittany Spears? _Seriously?!_ Jeez, sure "_Oops, I did it again_" was good, but the rest of them? _Pfft_."

Doubling over, Bella crawled out of the kitchen. "_Please_ tell me you didn't just say that. Edward Cullen…" the rest of her sentence wasn't comprehensible because she was laughing so hard. I followed her, my thoughts otherwise occupied.

I checked my phone.

7:50

If I said I was getting anxious at this point, I would be lying. I was on the edge of hysteria. I was pleased, sure, that most of my friends had remembered, but the one person that I had been waiting for ever since the crack of dawn hadn't bothered to even call.

Maybe I was right.

Maybe he would end up calling tomorrow thinking it was then.

Maybe he wouldn't call at all.

I continued to look through my new ipod, trying to distract myself, ready to feel a pang of remembrance at any moment.

* * *

**Rosalie**

"_And now we cross to our reporter live from outside __Shelton's Park Public Library. Sharon, what is going on in there?"_

"_Well, there have been rumours running around Alachua that this library is haunted-"_

"Ughh…" I rolled over and groaned as the reporter continued to chatter at an unholy volume.

"_Apparently books such as Dracula have gone missing! Coincidence? Or is it something else…"_

I opened my eyes. They focused on the green fibers of Emmett's couch. I frowned. Of all the odd places I'd woken up in… What was I doing here? I lurched into a sitting position and grabbed the remote that was sitting just by my head, my brain spinning as the blood rushed, making me fall off of the couch and onto the pile of DVDs we had been watching the previous night. I frowned harder and pulled one out from under me, "The Silence of the Lambs", quickly followed by "The Shining", then "The Sixth Sense". Grinning, I remembered Emmett trying to copy Cole Sear with the winning line: "_I see dead people"_ the preivious night.

Every so often we would have a "freak-a-thon", as Emmett called it. It was a competition on who could freak the other out first with the worst horror they could find.

I scrambled to my feet, rubbing the sides of my throbbing ears as I made my way to the kitchen, my good humour vanishing.

"_I'm bringing sexy back. Yeah_!"

"You most certainly won't be when I am through with you." I grumbled. _Somebody_ was cheerful this morning.

He laughed and pointed a greasy knife at me. Placing my hands on my hips, I glared.

Inspecting his efforts, I snorted. "Eggs and bacon for waking me up at… quarter to eight in the morning! Emmett!" I raised my hand to give him a well diserved smack over the head. "_What the- _ohhh." Realization hit me when I spotted my large, gift-wrapped present sitting on the kitchen counter, our gift to Alice for her birthday.

"Alice." I smiled, pleased with my deduction.

"Alice." He nodded, turning to the sizzeling bacon strips.

* * *

We were in our junior year when we met the crew. Jasper and I had moved, yet again. This time to live with our grandmother.

This hadn't been our first move.

We used to live with our parents in Phoenix. A nice, warm place.

Our parents were both successful lawyers. Our father, a defense attorney, our mother, a prosecutor.

Our mother had just won a successful trial against a serial murderer that had lasted longer than the others. Victory was sweet. They went out to dinner with their friends and co-workers, leaving us with a baby sitter and a promise to be back before bedtime.

The baby sitter was nice.

They didn't come back. A drunk driver behind a four-wheel drive saw to that.

Sure, Phoenix was a nice place and all that, but…it was only really ever important to us because of the ones we lived with. It had always been that way. Once that person was gone, the place held nothing but pain.

We moved away to live with our Aunt.

Heart attack.

Perhaps we were cursed.

"_Jasper? Rosie? We're leaving to that dinner thing we talked about." My tall, blonde father looked down at us, placing a large hand on the sides of our faces lovingly. "We'll be back before bed time."_

"_Can we finish the story?"_

"_Anything you want, kiddo." He smiled at Jasper's enthusiasm. My mother's heels clicked on the wooden floor. _

"_Rose? Have you got your good dress on? Ah, good. You look gorgeous, sweetie. Jasper," she sighed and bent down to her knees, inspecting the fringe of his T-shirt. "What did I tell you about chocolate?" Her long, graceful fingers skimmed over the dark splodge. She chuckled quietly and our father joined in, a beautiful sound. The doorbell rang shrilly._

"_Ah, there's the sitter." She smiled and got to her feet, and went to the door. She reentered the room a second later with a young, brown-haired woman. She had a warm, full face. Her dark locks fell down past her shoulders, curling softly._

"_Hello. You must be Jasper and Rosalie." She smiled. "I'm Angela, I'll be looking after you tonight while your parents are away._

"_Yes, this is Angela, children." Our father agreed and smiled, his eyes crinkling pleasantly at the edges. "You two be good while we're gone." He gave us both a quick peck on the top of our heads. _

"_Yes, no trouble. On your best behavior, like usual, ok?" Our mother kissed us fleetingly on the forehead before taking our fathers inviting arm._

"_We love you." They called looking over their shoulders before leaving._

"_We love you…"_ Those words haunted me.

We were only 6. Something in Jasper broke when our parents died. It was distressing for both of us. I was the older one. I got tougher. To take my mind off of the hideous memories that haunted me, I took Karate. No one messed with _me_ or _my_ _brother_. A few empty-headed kids had teased us about having no parents, having no one love us.

They didn't tease for long.

Jasper just kept to himself. At school he would work well. He got everything done. He was a model student, in fact. But he was miserable, and kept to himself. He would spend dinner looking down at his food, and afterwards he would hide in his room and play violent war games until the crack of dawn. It was painful to watch him struggle through each day, sharing his world with no one. Not even me.

* * *

Breakfast went by without incident. Checking my watch I exclaimed and sent Emmett to get changed while I trotted back to my small bag I had brought. I ran back to the bathroom and changed into my favorite dress and my lucky shoes. I wore these shoes for Alice. They weren't particularly high, not for me, but they were sacred. When trying on these beauties (which were a bargain by the way) I met the little psychic I came to call "friend".

* * *

I had had another argument with Jasper, which left me feeling empty. It was hard, fighting with the one who was closest to me.

We had been living with Patty for a week and I had been hoping vainly that he would come out of his shell a little more. We were supposed to go to the local high school that day for our first day. After the bitter argument with Jasper, Patty had called the school, letting them know we would come tomorrow. _"Just a few minor details to sort out. No need to worry, dear, they'll be there tomorrow." _That was Patty on the phone to the schools secretary. Yeah, just a few minor details. I snorted irritably.

Just my brother.

He was miserable.

And so was I.

Life changed with that move… or maybe it was that shopping trip.

_I had stormed out of the house, handbag hanging in one hand and the keys to the BMW in the other._

_When life gives you lemons, throw them away and go shopping._

_A few hours later I had all but given up on finding something I could wear and was walking down the main streets, glancing at whatever shop caught my fancy. The ones with shiny baubles or high shoes succeeded more often than others. _

_Younger people, a few my age, started flooding the stores as I walked. I checked my watch. School's out. I sighed. _Damn. Maybe I should turn in for the day_. I was about to start walking back to the car when a picture of Jaspers furious expression when we had fought that morning filled my head._

Maybe a bit longer.

_Distracted I walked into the first shop I came to. A shoe shop. Perfect._

_Smiling like a kid in a candy store I skipped around, taking any shoe that looked promising. When my arms couldn't hold another, I sank into one of the many leather seats and opened the first box, then the second, then the third, throwing each of the shoes on without inflection. I tired on a pair of red stilettos and frowned at the shape they crushed my toes into. Throwing those away, I picked up another. Purple ballet flats. I sniffed petulantly, did they have to be that color?_

_A vaguely noticed a girl, about my age, take the seat next to me. She too was trying on piles of shoes. She had stylishly short hair that stuck up I nearly every direction, tastefully colored clothes and an elegant walk that models envied._

"_Stupid boots." She growled as she tried to pull a pair of knee-high, faux fur covered boots up over her jeans. "Stupid shoes, stupid store, stupid Stanley…" The profanities continued as she yanked, and, after a hefty tug, the edge slipped over the denim. She scrutinized herself in the mirror and frowned. "Damn it." She pouted. "Oh, Beeelllla?"_

_A beautiful brunette poked her from out of an isle, frowning. "What is it this time, Ali?"_

"_More heel, less fluff."_

"_Righty, your royal highness." She rolled her dark eyes._

"_No- wait! Not down there!" She hopped to her feet, one of which were still incased in a boot and hobbled after her friend._

_It was my turn to try on a pair of boots and after a little tug-of-war of my own I glared at them. "Hmph. Nothing short of ugly." I added those to the growing pile next to me. I rested my chin on my hands and sat there, exhausted of options._

"_Hello there." It was the smiling, profanity-exclaiming, well-dressed, dark haired girl. She glanced at the mountain of shoes besides me, her dark blue eyes sparkling with amusement._

"_Here," she passed me the single box she had under her arm. "these'll work." Smiling, she took a seat besides me, picking up one of the one I'd rejected and tried them on herself. _

_Sparing a confused glance at my new friend, I opened the shoebox. They were a pair of simple silver heels. I smiled as I inspected them. They reminded me of what I imagined Cinderella would wear. _

_I slipped them on- they fitted perfectly, they made my legs look longer, they didn't hurt too much and, best of all, they were _shiny_. I was in love with a pair of shoes._

"_Wow." I sat there and blinked, dumbstruck. She looked up from her examination of the flats that were now on her feet, to smile at me. _

"_Thanks."_

_Her smiled widened to flash her small pearl white teeth._

"_No problems. I'm Mary Alice Brandon-"_

"_Old habits die hard, don't they, Alice?" Her brown eyed friend took the spot on her other side._

"_-but you can call me Alice. And this," she gestured to her friend "is Isabella Swan."_

"_Bella." She corrected. She smiled and waved._

"_Rose. Rosalie Hale."_

* * *

Emmett demanded my attention, bringing me out of my recollections with a loud wolf-whistle.

"_Damn_, Rose, we don't have to go anywhere." Flattered, I could only laugh and take his hand.

"Alice." I reminded him firmly. "Not Newton, this is only Alice were talking about."

"… _better not…have anything between their ears they wont… Newton_… _yeah."_ He muttered, shooting glances at me every few seconds as we walked to the jeep.

I frowned with distaste. Emmett's large, red jeep was hardly how I wanted to get around. It was dirty, slow and slightly smelly. Emmett ignored my revulsion and towed me over to the passenger seat. I sighed and climbed in; this was a fight I wouldn't win.

I was impatient to leave. We were running late. Late by Alice standards, anyway. If something wasn't broken by now, I wasn't worth the shoes I walked in.

I glanced at Emmett, and noticed he was texting someone. If Stanley was harassing him again, _so help me I'll_…

"Who was that from?" I demanded, more irritated that I should have been. _He's mine, Stanley, rack off._

He seemed to notice how furious I was and that confused him.

He raised his eyebrows and pointed at his phone, his mouth open slightly. It would have been hilarious if I hadn't been so furious.

"Alice." It sounded like a question. "And," he glanced at the clock that was installed into his monster jeep, "its your turn, anyway."

I glanced at the clock, too.

7:56.

"Ah, thanks for reminding me." How could I have forgotten? This whole freaking day was Alice Day. We had agreed the previous day in English class (the only class none of us -except for Jasper- had with Alice), that we would text her in order of appearance. Alice was a sucker for "coincidences". She always managed to figure out any surprises we set up for her, so this was top-secret stuff, just between us five. A surprise would mean more to Alice than anything else we could give her.

Jasper didn't know about any of this, and I was supposed to tell him when I got home. But, of course, I had forgotten my plans with Emmett and hadn't gone home that evening. So the only person who didn't know (besides Alice) was the person who meant the most to her. I groaned. They were going to kill me. _Jasper_ was going to kill me.

I pulled out the phone Emmett had given me for my birthday. _Nothing but grief, what a waste of time_. If it hadn't been given to me by my, if not slightly idiotic, Emmett, this phone would be _swimming with the fishes_.

**

* * *

**

Alice

With a huge grin on my face, I watched Edward umm and err over the inner workings of my bed, trying to put it back together for me. Bella sat next to me with an identical smirk as she watched her boyfriend struggle with the mattress.

"Hey, maybe we should call Esme, it seems that Eddie can't handle a little housekeeping…" Bella said with a smile, a little louder than if it had been meant for just me.

He growled as he attempted, yet again, to lift my mattress up onto his shoulders.

"Yeah- I think even Emmett could do this quicker…" Bella muffled a giggle. Edward grunted dismissively but was unable to say anything else. I glanced at my phone, yet again. Checking the time made me feel both unstable (it wasn't healthy to keep checking every five minutes) and more in control (I knew exactly how desperate I really was).

7:56

He was beyond late.

"…and this bit goes here, right? No, that can't be…" Edward threw the mattress to the floor and paced up and down in front of what was left of my bed. I allowed a small smile as I inspected my toenails. Waiting…

_New Message_. I tired not to get my hopes up, they would only get crushed. _Rosalie._

_Alice,_  
_Hold in there, sister, we haven't forgotten. In fact I would be there already but Emmett thought it would be funny to try to disintegrate my eardrums to dust._

_The one, the only, the magnificent Rosalie!_

I frowned, checking the received time. 7:56. Only a minute after _Emmett's_ reply. They were probably coming together. I looked quickly over my inbox messages. One after the other, my friends had texted me. Bella, Edward, Emmett and now Rose. Was this only a coincidence?

Rosalie was one of the strongest women I knew. She always glowed with self-confidence- she always knew what to do. It was almost like she had absorbed all my self-sufficiency when she and her twin brother moved here. Before them, I was the strongest part of our little group; I was the one who comforted everyone whenever they had any doubts, any troubles. I was the shoulder to cry on.

But then everything turned on its head and I was the one who needed support.

* * *

It was on Monday, our last lesson. It had been a Physical Education lesson with Coach Clapp, and I was having the best week I'd ever had. Bella and I waited outside the changing rooms for Rosalie. The rest of the class walked past chatting and laughing. Lauren and Jessica rounded the corner last.

Everyone knew about Lauren and her deep, irrational hate for Bella. She had had her eyes set on Edward ever since she saw him on that first day, all those years ago, in second year.

"_Are you OK, Bella?" She asked, sneeringly, " I saw how you tripped over your own feet before. Are you sure you don't need to go to the nurse's office again? Maybe Edward can help you. Helpless, aren't we? _Clearly_ you can't possibly live without him." She sniffed. Bella's face went bright red and her eyes welled up angrily, but she seemed unable to answer._

"_Not as bad as you, _Lauren_. All of the guys seem to have helped you with your problems in the janitor's room over the years."_

"_Hmph." She eyed me angrily; I seemed to have hit a nerve. "At least I'm not alone." Her eyes narrowed, "I can have any of the boys here, unlike you, it seems. I've seen you around that new kid, the Hale boy. Its sad- no, its worse than that. It's _pathetic_. You're even worse than Bella is with coordination when he's around. Tripping over your own feet, Alice?" She hissed vindictively. "You'll be staring at him, still, as he walks away with _me_. So keep staring, Brandon, that's as close as your going to get."_

"_Get lost, Mallory." Rose was at my shoulder, towering over Lauren, her eyes flinty. Outnumbered two to three, Lauren cast one last glare at me before sweeping past us, closely followed by an excited Jessica._

"_Cow." Rosalie spat, her expression still livid._

"_Thanks Alice." Bella was still red in the face, "Are you ok?_

"_It's not true, you know." Rose met my eyes "What she said about you. Its not true."_

"_Of course not." I said briskly. I was proud that my voice barely trembled. They looked at me, still worried, but didn't say anything else. _

_I changed quickly, my hands working on auto-pilot. Despite how I brushed off Laurens spiteful words off, I could help but agree with her. _Inadequate_, I dug up a word Edward had used not that long before. Yes, I felt inadequate._

_I walked quickly to my car, not making any attempt to be my cheerful, happy self. The car started quickly, the hum of the engine dulling my pain better than any painkiller. I was empty._

_I parked around the corner from my house, shut the engine off and just sat there._

"At least I'm not alone_." Her words echoed in my head, bringing back memories… The look in Edwards's eyes on that first day… Emmett's expression when Rosalie sat next to him during lunch … Bella's ecstatic face when Edward caught her that time in PE… Rose's smile, a rare thing, when Emmett cracked a joke… Jasper. His cold, calculating eyes boring into me whenever I came into view. "_Its pathetic_." I tripped over my own feet when he smiled… Unable to find words when he spoke. I was pathetic._

_The tears that had been welling up without me noticing suddenly spilled over. My arms were tight around my chest, holding me together as well as they could. A hot tear ran down my cheek as I saw her sneer replayed over and over in my head, and the saddest thing about it was that I believed her. _

"_Alice? _Alice!_" I mustn't have noticed her pull over. She pulled the drivers door open, her blonde hair swept by the wind, her expression wild. I sniffed quietly and wiped my tears away quickly with a swipe of my sleeve._

_She inspected me, her face hard._

"_Oh, Alice- what will we do with you?" I shivered with ____déjà vu__ as the words I had told Bella all those years ago was thrown back at me. _Pathetic_- and that proved it. A new wave of tears flowed down my cheeks at the thought._

_She took my hand and pulled me out of the car and murmured quiet calming nothings to me. She pulled the keys out of the ignition and locked the car behind us._

_The next thing I knew I was sitting in the passenger side of her red BMW and Rosalie was typing a number furiously into her phone. She lifted it to her ear, casting a worried frown at me._

"_Bella? Yes, it's Rose. Forget Edward… _No_, drop him on the side of the road and take his precious Volvo for all I care- _Alice needs you_…. My house, five minutes… Chocolate." She glanced over at me again, shrewdly, "Lots and lots of it. Bring movies too. And sleeping bags, pillows, the works… Whatever movie you think will work. No you can't bring Emmett or the other one." She nodded at something the person on the other end said. "Of course… Ok? Ok. Cya, Bells. " I blinked, bringing myself out of the numbness. _

"_Rose- you don't have to-"_

"_No, Ali," She adopted my nickname, smiling reassuringly, "I _do_ have to do this. This is what we- Bella and I- are here for." She put her foot on the gas then, as if to reinforce her words. _

We spent the evening at Rose's house as promised. Bella brought enough chocolate to bathe in and we watched all the movies we could get our hands on. We played twister, truth or dare and then, because we were bored enough, poker.

It was three o'clock in the morning when we finally laid down to sleep on the mountain of pillows that Rose kept. Bella was asleep first and was murmuring only and hour after. I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard Rose murmur something in my ear as I lost consciousness.

"_No one knows my brother better than I do, Alice. Believe me, there is no way you will have to settle with only staring at him."_

* * *

**A/N: Ok, normally Alice wouldn't have been so insecure but the poor girl was head over heels for this boy she hardly knew. It wasn't her fault that Laurens words got so easily to her. You can probably see that everything is coming together bit by bit here, and this chapter proves it. Every time I put something that has been said or hinted at in the previous chapters I feel like I'm hammering nails into a coffin. I can feel this one finishing with ever word I write and I feel both sad and exceptionally happy. It's coming to an end. Ooh feel the tension! No, I doubt that Shelton's Park Public Library is actually haunted, but that would be so cool if it was :P I've never been there, but still…**

**Review!!**


	5. NoSuchThingAsAFirstImpression

**A/N: Here we are. I've been working on this chapter since Edward's, so I hope it's up to scratch. OK this chapter will jump around a lot so you will probably need to concentrate. Brain power, people :P**

**Disclaimer:**I would eat my own weight in chocolate to get my hands on the rights to Twilight. Sadly, if I did do that, no one in their right mind would give me anything... except maybe a _bucket_. Besides, I wouldn't be able to find that much chocolate, let alone pay for it.  
Sooo... I don't own "Sex machine", Emmett, Rosalie, Skittles, Alice or... Jasper! Oh, I don't own Twilight- that's Stephanie Meyer's. Short and Sweet: lets roll.

**Chapter 5:  
**_No-Such-Thing-As-A-First-Impression_

* * *

**Alice**

I sighed as I watched my best friends. It was "Emmett time", apparently.

It was because of Emmett I had my new ipod was still blaring "Sex Machine" at full volume, even after his solo dance session had finished.

He had also raided the kitchen and discovered the several packets of skittles I had been saving. He was stuffing them in his mouth one at a time, while Rosalie counted and judged. Bella was watching Emmett as well; a large grin was set on her face while she attempted to poke him in the ribs. Her cheeks were red from smiling. Edward was watching Bella, like he had always done. He was happy simply because she was happy.

My heart stabbed with loneliness as I watched the devotion in his eyes. I missed my other half more than was necessary. It hadn't been 24 hours since I had last seen him. I felt lost.

Sure I was happy, my friends were here, had told me that they had remembered, they had each brought a present for me. The smile on my face was evidence of that. There was now an ipod and a matching speaker set from Edward, a huge basket brimming with chocolate from Rosalie, and unknown gifts from both Bella and Emmett. But, despite, and maybe even because, of all this love that filled my kitchen, I felt incomplete.

I sank down ionto the brown, lumpy leather couch and glanced down at the ice-cold phone that sat in my hand.

8:03

Edward had decided to help Bella put Emmett off and was poking him, too. I watched, smiling sadly as he managed to get him in just the right spot. Emmett giggled, and all 46 Skittles exploded from his mouth in a torrent of color and skidded, wet and slimy, over the marble kitchen counter.

"EW! EMMETT McCARTY LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"What's wrong Rosie?"

"Argh! _Look_! Look at my dress! And-" she shrieked again as she extracted a purple skittle from her hair, "You. Got. Food. In. My. Hair!!" **(A/N: sorry, I couldn't help it)**

Feeling like I _should_ join in, I picked up a fluffy pillow from beside me and flung it across the room, hitting Emmett smack in the face.

I wicked grin crept across his broad face.

"Ohh now your gonna get it." His grin widened as he scooped the fallen pillow up.

Pillows flew everywhere, knocking vases, people, and every now and then, landed on the pile of soaked skittles. Feathers were all over the place as one of the nice silk pillows my mother had gotten from Thailand exploded with impact when it hit Edward's shoulder.

"_What_ is going on here?"

I swung around. It was _him._ Everyone stopped comically mid-strike as they stared at him guiltily, children caught in the act. Bella had feathers tangled in her dark, long hair and her cheeks were flushed bright red. Edward was next to her, a packet of skittles lying open in his hand- he had been throwing a second before. Rosalie had Emmett in a headlock with one arm and her other hand was stopped in midair, armed with a pillow she had been hitting her boyfriend with.

I dropped the pillow I was holding. It bounced slightly as it hit the floor and knocked against the coffee table, making the glasses of water wobble dangerously, but all I could do is stare.

I pursed my lips and placed my hands on my hips, trying to be fierce.

"You've kept me waiting a long time."

He mocked saluted. "Sorry Ma'am." He chuckled, his velvety voice melting my outer shell.

I couldn't help it. I melted.

"Jasper!" Forgetting the company we had I ran up to him and flung my arms around his waist, like I hadn't seen him in years. He laughed his musical laugh again, making me feel even better.

I could feel his lips in my hair. He hummed a wordless tune for a second before he drew me away from him so he could look into my eyes.

"So, Alice," There was his melting smile again. "Can I give you my present?" He pointed at the pile of gifts the others had given me with his chin.

"Mmmm…" I sighed breathing his scent in again, my eyes glittering for a moment.

I blinked, pulling myself out of my stupor unwillingly. I had to get onto my toes to be able to see past his tall shoulder.

I gazed at them apologetically.

"Uhh…" I began, my head too full of the god in front of me to put together a coherent apology.

Edward chuckled quietly, pulling Bella closer to him. He smiled like he was the happiest man on the planet.

"I think we'll be fine. This is your birthday, remember? "

"Go off with Jasper, we big kids now. We can take care of ourselves." Rosalie agreed, her grip on Emmett's head tightened when he attempted to look up.

He demanded my attention when he placed his cool hand on the side of my face. I spun back to him, my eyes meeting his bottomless blue ones.

He didn't say anything; he just smiled as he half-carried me out the door. I was limp in his hands, my only will was to be with him, besides that, I didn't care. Just as he closed the door behind us, I heard Emmett's voice float through the hall:

"Hey, Rose, you know what…? I kind of like this position. _Very_ cozy."

"...Emmett McCarty, you disgust me, absolutely and completely."

I recovered slightly from my helpless state when he opened the Jag door for me. I frowned.

"Can't I drive?" I asked, giving him my puppy-eyed stare. I loved this car, not quite the Porsche I wanted, but it wasn't bad.

He chuckled, guessing my second agenda. "No, Alice. I can't let you do that. You don't know where we're going." He grinned.

"You could always tell me."

"Not this time, love." My heart melted and my thoughts became a tidal wave of gazing happiness when he looked at me. Oh, the way he said "love". _Swoon._

* * *

**Jasper**

I glanced at her with the corner of my eye. She was staring at me, her eyes in some far away place.

I could only hope that that far away place had me in it.

I could still remember the day we met. We were in our Junior year. Rosalie and I had moved, once again, to a new destination. Certain that fate was being cruel to us on purpose, we moved to Forks to live with our grandmother, Patty, in her rather large, empty house. She kept to herself on rainy days, saying that they reminded her too much of her departed husband. I understood.

So, my life, our lives, had been nothing but a fantastic tragedy. Rosalie had become uptight and harsh. I had become withdrawn.

We were like that on our first day of school.

* * *

**Alice**

I could remember their first day. I was sitting on one of the benches our in front of the school, lounging in the weak sunlight. I was sitting across from Edward, debating over the Math essay Varner had set the previous lesson.

"_No, clearly he wanted this," he pointed at the booklet he had set to read over the lesson. "Varner is stupid- I know, but would he seriously give us this and tell us to do something totally different?"_

"_You're right. Varner is stupid. Give it up Edward, you did the wrong exercise. He went through this-" I motioned at my homework page, "stuff on the board in the lesson. But maybe you were paying too much attention to the pretty brunette that was sitting with me to notice that, eh?"_

"_Alice-" he reasoning was lost on me as I noticed the girl I had met in the shoe shop._

"_Rose!" I smiled widely and waved, trying to make my eyes reassuring. She returned my smile with her drop-dead gorgeous one. Turning the heads of my narrow-minded male classmates, she walked over my little group of friends and I._

* * *

**Jasper**

_Rosalie was sitting on the edge of her seat, jumping up and down nervously. _

"_Calm, Rose. Deep breaths."_

"_Argh- shut up, Jasper. I can't keep still and if you continue to try to make me, you'll end up getting hurt." She must've been really nervous; she rarely refused to let me calm her down._

_I drove around the last corner and Forks High came into view. What a sad sight. And while it wasn't really surprising, the small town's high school looked like a collection of little huts. I quietly snorted. What fun._

_As soon as I had the car in place, Rose jumped out, her long blonde hair swinging. I watched her walk towards the main office, and I was about to follow her when someone called her from one of the benches. Rose waved back to the group brightly, seeming to recognize one or two of them._

"_Argh! You didn't tell me you were going here!" A small figure with short black hair with her back to me squealed with honest happiness._

_While I couldn't see her, Rose must've smiled back. They continued talking, and the short figure seemed to introduce my sister to her friends._

_Hmph._

_Perhaps it is time for me to make myself known… Without a further thought I clasped the door handle and released the lock. _

_Looking around, I noticed I had attracted more attention than usual. Everywhere there were eyes, all of them full of curiosity, lust or jealousy. Some people didn't have lives, apparently. If you could immediately hate or love a person, just by looking at them, you had some serious problems. Or, at least that's what I had always thought when I attracted unwelcome attention._

_Rosalie finished talking to the group and motioned towards me. _

"…_my brother, Jasper."_

_I froze when the group turned._

_And there she was._

* * *

**Alice**

"Yes," Rosalie nodded smiling. She had such a pleasant, warm smile. "we just moved here."

"_Oh-" Emmett groaned in mock realization, "So it isn't true that your grandmother locks you up in her attic." He rolled his eyes, grinning._

_She laughed, a bell sound, "No, she may be lonely, but she isn't psychotic." She paused, her lips allowing another thin smile. "She's very kind to take us in." She murmured quietly, more to herself than to anyone else._

"_Us?"_

_She looked up to meet Edwards's eyes. "Yes, my brother and I. We're twins actually," she smiled wryly. "No, we can't read each other's thoughts or anything freaky like that."_

_Bella appraised her thoughtfully. "I wouldn't have thought you were- twins are so often short. When I think twins, I think Olson." She grinned slyly. "Is your brother really, really short or something?"_

"_Ahaha- no. He's even taller than me."_

"_Does the brother have a name?" I was starting to feel sorry for Rose, what with all our questions and such. She took it in her stride._

"_Jasper. My brother, Jasper." She turned around, which was kind of scary, considering that a tall blonde boy was slowly walking towards us. She smiled and waved. I hardly noticed._

_He was tall, sure. A picture of perfection, I supposed, like Rosalie. But that wasn't the only thing that caught, and held, my attention._

_His eyes. They were a piercing blue, the kind of color you only find in the skies on the most perfect days. Deep, liquid jewels, and while I was certain that they used to be full of warmth, all I could see was ice. And pain. I shuddered, wondering how much he really hurt underneath the surface._

_After quickly taking in the others his eyes darted back to me. He started to break me down, molecule by molecule. Not a single particle was left of me that hadn't been scrutinized. For the first time in my life I felt self-conscious. _

_He must have spotted something about me that troubled him. His mouth curved ever so slightly down and a small crease appeared between his eyebrows. While I made my observations, the conversation continued without me._

"_Hi, I'm Emmett." Emmett offered one of his large bear-like hands, which Jasper took with a small smile._

"_Bella Swan. Its nice to be able to put a face to a name."_

"_Edward."_

_My heart stopped beating as I took a slight step towards him, my eyes locked with his. His expression smoothed and his eyes bored into mine._

"_Alice. My name's Alice."_

* * *

**Jasper**

_She just stood there, her face completely and utterly expressionless. Despite that, I could almost taste her emotions; feel them better than my own. I had always been good at guessing other peoples deepest feelings with just a glance, none of them had affected me like this singular girl's had. And how could I tell? Her eyes. Dark orbs, the color of the night sky showed me her emotions, leaking from her very core, brimming with life._

_She watched me walk silently towards her and I could feel the sympathy throbbing from out of her. That surprised me- she knew, without words. Somehow she knew._

_I felt my pervious belief, my "there's-no-such-thing-as-a-first-impression", was ripped in two like a piece of paper, and the shreds were left to float away in the cold, morning air as I stared at her._

_She was frozen, her hands were balled into little, tight fists but her eyes blazed at me. She was frustrated with something. _

_Searching for the reason, I appraised her. Her thin frame was protected from the cold by a set of carefully picked-out clothes. Designer label, I decided, though I wasn't sure. Fashion was more of a Rose thing._

_Her skin was pale- a side effect of living in Forks. It made her dark eyes look that much bigger than they were by themselves. Her hair was probably well looked after; it was cut shorter than most girls liked it, and stuck up everywhere._

_Despite her strange, striking features, she was beautiful. Stunning. _

_She shifted uncomfortably, but didn't break eye contact._

_I hid my displeasure when I was introduced to all her friends. I waited patiently as one by one they introduced themselves._

_Emmett, Bella, Edward…_

_She hesitated, shifting her weight and stepped forward, a nervous smile brightened her features slightly._

"_Alice." I looked into her deep eyes, "My name is Alice." _

_I felt my world shake as she murmured those few words quietly. Alice. Her voice made the words into a song. My past, like a musty spider web in the highest corner in a forgotten shed- a place that no one else had ever touched before- she blew it all away just by looking at me. I could feel fate pulling at my sides. Out of all the girls on the planet, I knew that this one was the one for me._

_The others continued chatting with Rosalie, their voices distant, as if they were talking on the other side of the lawn rather than right in front of me._

_Almost reflexively, my hand reached for hers. "Alice." I felt my lips pull into the first real smile they had made for years. "Hello, Alice."_

_She smiled back, and for some reason, her ivory cheeks took on a slightly pink shine as she took my hand._

* * *

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, her eyes full of questions.

"You." Of course.

This surprised her. While she always lectured Bella about being sure of herself, she never seemed to think I could care as much about her as she cared for me.

"And?" She insisted, but was really just trying to cover her surprise.

I hummed for a second and then took a deep breath, breathing in her sweet scent. "That first day. Do you remember?"

"When you tried to dissect me with only your eyes?" She teased, but, when I glanced over at her, her eyes betrayed a small pang of discomfort. Hmm, she really believed I had hated her on that first day. Edward had told me as much.

"I wasn't trying to dissect you. Hardly. No, you my dear, had my full attention from that first second."

"No."

"Yes."

"No! No _way_, Hale."

"Yes. Why not?"

"But-but… no." She spluttered uncomfortably, and then poked me in the shoulder with her small index finger. "Do you know how many times I sat up late at night thinking you hated me? _Do you have any idea_?"

"No, but then again, you have no idea how many sleepless night I've had. Not to mention I thought you and Emmett-"

"Emmett's my brother by all but blood." She huffed dismissively, but she couldn't disguise the newfound happiness that sparkled in her eyes. Her expression became tender as she stared at me.

"I wasn't being stupid? You really cared? "

"You're never stupid. I've always cared. I always will."

"Always?"

I pulled the car over, cut the engine and reached over and placed my hand on the side of her small, perfect face. Her eyes blazed into mine as I inched closer, her lips searched for mine. I reached past them and whispered into her ear quietly. She shivered with pleasure.

"Forever."

* * *

**A/N: Right! So there it is! Finally some A/J time, not the best, but hey. I've been waiting for as long as you guys have. I hope its up to scratch…No; it's not done just yet, but its close. This chapter was shorter than any of the others before it, but I'm not ashamed of it. Ooh, and because in the books Jasper doesn't have a car (as we know of) and a motorbike is impractical for Forks weather, I gave him one myself. It's a Jaguar XF, if you were wondering. Don't ask any car questions- I don't know anything about it- I just thought it would be a nice car.**


	6. The Last Option

****

A/N: This story was originally was cut into six parts: Bella's story, Edward's story, Emmett's and Rosalie's story (they were and are really two parts of a whole), Jasper's story and then, the next chapter, Alice's. _This_ was, originally, going to be the last chapter, but it was getting so long and so individual to the rest, I had to change it. And so it doesn't stuff up my little plan in my head, this is called either Alice pt.1 (and the next one is called Alice pt.2) or, better yet, "The Interval".

They were all much simpler in my head when the idea first came to me than they are now. Clearly this story has a mind of its own and proceeded to grow right under my very fingers. You might have heard me say a couple of times in other A/Ns that "this chapter was originally much shorter" and its all true. It was short- it was flimsy and its been thanks to you guys and your (few) reviews that this has become what it is, every little helps :) thanks everyone.

**Ok, enough chatter, reminiscing time over. Here it is- Alice, section 1, AKA: The Interval.**

**Disclaimer:** It was my birthday no too long ago and I had been hoping that Stephanie would be sending me the rights to Twilight as a present.

I'm still waiting, Steph.  
So, until Mrs Meyer decides to send me the rights to Twilight, I have to say this: I don't own Twilight. Sad but true. Oh, and the song ("Desire") is Ryan Adams's, not mine.

**Chapter 6:  
**_The Last Option_

* * *

**Alice**

We had pulled over at his house. It was his grandmother, Patty's, really. It had always intimidated me slightly. Maybe it was partly because of the individuals that lived in there, but part of me was frightened by the building itself. It was large- no doubt about that- it was larger than even _my_ home.

_What did they do with all the space?_ I wondered, my eyes glazing over as I stared.

I heard him chuckle at my expression and I turned. He was watching me, of course, and I stared back at him. The silence deepened as we stared at one another, the air crackling with the static that came so easily between us. He broke the stillness with a smile and her reached over to me again. My heart thudded in my chest, threatening to break a rib. He chuckled and held out a blindfold.

"You'll need to wear this." I was putty in his very capable hands and, for once, I didn't argue. I treasured the feeling of his skin on mine as he gently wrapped the black fabric around my head.

He swiftly kissed me on my forehead before disappearing. The car door slammed shut with a muffled "_slam_".

I sighed and waited patiently.

I hadn't noticed it before; I was too preoccupied with the perfect man that was sitting next to me, to notice what music was playing. "_Desire"_, from Ryan Adams. I sang along as it played.

"_Two hearts fading, like a flower.  
And all this waiting, for the power.  
For some answer, to this fire.  
Sinking slowly. The waters higher.  
Desire…"_

* * *

**Jasper**

With my stomach twisting uncomfortably, I left her in the car. Her lips moved; singing along to the music in the car, I supposed. Out of habit, I checked the mobile in my back pocket.

_2 New Messages.  
ID: Rosalie._

_Jasper. I didn't tell you, you can kill me later, but you need to text Alice at 8ish- no sooner of you'll stuff the pattern up.  
This is a joint gift for her.  
Don't mess this up._

Hmph, she could have told me earlier. I sighed and shook my irritation off, if I had turned up any later, Alice would have flipped… Flipped even more.

_ID: Rosalie.  
__Jasper! What are you doing?!_

Short and sweet. Nice, Rose.

I had been too busy this morning, trying to save my plans from the rain, to check my phone earlier. I should have seen it coming, even if it was forecasted to be sunny, this was Forks we are talking about- of course it rained.

Humming quietly to myself I opened the front door, with a single glance over my shoulder. _For you, Alice._

* * *

**Alice**

"_With no secrets. No obsession.  
This time I'm speeding with no direction.  
Without a reason. What is this fire?  
Burning slowly. My one and only.  
Desire…"_

I had always associated a certain time in my life with this song. I supposed it was the whole "desperation" thing that had eaten me whole at the time. It brought me back to one of my most treasured memories. Gym class, last lesson. I chuckled quietly, both this memory, one of my favorites, and my _most_ hated memory were in the gym and both of them were somehow connected with Jasper. Coincidence? Maybe…

* * *

We had just come out of biology and Rose and I were pulling an unwilling Bella to the changing rooms. She was less stubborn than usual after a lesson with Edward sitting next to her, but she still managed to dig her heels in.

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

_"_No!_"_

_"_Yes!_"_

_"Two against one: we win."_

__

___"Alice, this is not a democracy. No."_

"_Bella," Roses voice became slightly higher as she attempted to become more persuasive, "Edward will be there-"_

"_What? Why?"_

"_Apparently, they're mixing all the gym lessons together." _

"_Huh?" I hadn't heard that slab of gossip. "I didn't know that. Are they trying to make us enjoy it more?"_

_She laughed, "No, they are just trying to save a bit of money. It's kind of sad, really." With a hefty tug she managed to move Bella a few more feet. "They got this dancing teacher, or whatever, and apparently, the more people they can cram into a class, the less they have to pay."_

"_Cheapskates." Bella muttered, getting dragged a little further by Rose. Then she suddenly skidded to a halt._

"_Rose! What-? Did you say dancing teacher? As in, we have to dance?"_

_Rose eyed Bella with confusion. _

"_Yes…" she said slowly, as if she were talking to a toddler. "Dancing. You know-" she made a few ballroom steps. "_That _kind of dancing."_

_Bella choked and spluttered, and took a few steps back. Rose was all but forced to pick her up to get her into the change rooms, muttering: "Don't be such a baby."_

_I, on the other hand, had frozen. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I wasn't inept at dancing, but ballroom dancing, unlike say... disco dancing, you required a partner you didn't mind having close to you. And I, unlike Edward and Bella (and I had my suspicions about Rose and Emmett, too) were already "together". I was the only one of my group who didn't have a partner already picked and ready. _

_I shivered as I opened the changing room door, imagining Mike Newton nose to nose. _

_After a quick costume change I entered the gym nervously with Rose and Bella. We quickly met up with Emmett and Edward and waited, along with the other two classes, for our dance teacher to show._

_Coach Clapp took the stage._

"_Right," he cleared his throat loudly, an annoying habit he had gotten into. "We've brought you all together for a new lesson. This is what we call ballroom dancing. Not disco, not country," a relieved sigh filled the gym, "but we will all give Miss…" he checked his notes quickly. "Miss Dayal, our full attention." He glared around at the mob in front of him, as if daring them to start making fart noises. Glancing at Newton, I could understand who his warnings were for._

"_Call me Amanda," A short, blonde haired woman with far too much red lipstick on and a shirt that was too small for her, stepped forward with a large smile. She squeaked and jumped around on the balls of her feet._

_Emmett leaned over and whispered loudly in my ear. "She's even jumpier than you are on sugar, Ali." I gave him a well-deserved smack on the shoulder before tuning back in._

"_Split into rows and…follow me!" She smiled, as if there was nothing better in the world than a gym full of sulking teenagers._

_She hit the play button on the CD player behind her, and "Kung Fu Fighting", by Carl Douglas filled the gym, at a volume so loud the floor vibrated under my feet. She started going through a series of intricate movements, expecting the whole joint class to be able to follow her. It was ten minutes of hell where the strongest of the flailing arms and legs survived. _

"_There we're all warm, now, aren't we?" She smiled toothily. "Ok, since ballroom dancing is between couples, I brought my partner-" she gestured to a gorgeous tan man who walked towards her. "Ladies and gents, this is my partner, __Antonio__." Girls drooled and guys glared enviously. "And you will all need to find a partner each."_

_If it was pandemonium before, it was pure chaos then. Shrieks filled the air as girls grabbed partners before all the good ones were taken. Edward smiled at Bella and offered his arm, which she blushingly took. Rose grabbed Emmett's hand possessively, glaring at Jessica who had made a motion towards him. I watched in horror as everyone was partnered. Even Mike Newton was snapped up. I ignored the loving couples and the looks of sympathy as I approached Dayal and Antonio._

"_I don't have a partner. I will sit out." I muttered robotically_. Please, please don't force me upon anyone_- I already felt like a third wheel._

_Right at that second the gym door crashed open and a tall blond apologized to the closest couples as he crossed the room. He shot me a look of curiosity before turning to the teacher._

"_Sorry I'm late. Varner needed a word after class." _

_She absolutely beamed. "Well, that's fine Mr.-?"_

"_Hale."_

"_Absolutely fine, actually. This young lady was left without a partner. Welcome to ballroom dancing, Mr. Hale." I nearly buried my head in my arms in shame. He didn't need to know I was the only one rejected!_

_He appraised me with concern but offered his hand without anything further other than a chivalrous: "Shall we, Alice?" _He is just being polite_, I told myself sternly as my heart thudded loudly. I was surprised everyone else didn't hear it. _

"_Ok, children-" everyone shot her death-rays, which she ignored. "Since we only have a week to get this down pat, we're going to learn the waltz. Its nothing you can't handle, and is fairly common. It could come in handy one of these days. I should know." She winked at Antonio._

"_Ok, gents, the waltz requires you to be the leader." Antonio addressed the class seriously. I doubted that many of the girls were paying attention to what he was saying- they were too busy drooling. "You will lead your partner in all of the steps and will determine if this will work or fail._

"_Face you partner and place your right hand on her waist, slightly around the back." I tried to hide the shiver that ran through my body as Jaspers hand slid to my waist. I was burning under his light touch._

"_Extend your left hand to your side with your elbow ever-so-slightly bent. Palm outwards, and take your partners hand like this-" he showed the class his grip of Dayal. "Ladies you should mirror his grip, too." With well-practiced grace, Jasper smiled reassuringly and held his hand out for me. My breath caught in my throat as I took his hand in mine._

_I had already been taught the waltz by my father when I was growing up. And, by the way he watched me when the teachers were instructing, so had Jasper. _That's the only reason, that's the only reason… _I chanted over and over in my head. _Just being polite…

_The class went by in this fashion until Dayal called for the end. We didn't move apart. I stared up into his eyes and he into mine. There was an unfathomable glint in them I couldn't understand. His mouth twitched slightly, and he took a deep breath, as if to say something. He exhaled loudly a second later and, shooting me a look out of the corner of his eye, he retreated to the corner of the hall._

_I watched him go, mournfully. While I observed his slow graceful lope, I noticed all of my friends staring at me. I pursed my lips, and, hoping my face wasn't too red, I shook my head at them. Rose rolled her eyes and Bella bit back a grin, but otherwise, they looked away pointedly. I buried a grimace and walked over to them, my head low._

_I inhaled deeply and tried to ignore his lingering scent as I attempted to clear my head. I was deeply confused. Talk about double standards- first he hates me, then he smiles at me then he stares at me… I was still lost from that first encounter._

_I could always ask Rosalie, his sister- she must know her brother enough to tell me what was going on in Jasper's head. They were siblings- they knew each other well. And, despite what she had said before, I was still sure that twins could read each other's thoughts._

_I could also ask Edward about it. He was a pro at reading people and could tell you anything about anyone. But, more importantly, he understood what was the motive behind each decision- I didn't understand it, but I was sure he was accurate._

_But despite these two fantastically _un_tempting options, I was reluctant to involve anyone else in my small struggle to understand Jasper Hale._

_Then again, there was also option three: I could confront Jasper and, like a five-year-old, I could demand he explain his peculiar actions to me himself. I shied away from that option, too. I didn't like confrontation, but when it was necessary I could take it. _

_It wasn't necessary. _

_And that brought me to option four: __Swallow the strange feelings I felt about this amazing boy and move on with life. _

_I sighed and opened my eyes, feeling as lost as I had started with. I had no idea what I was doing._

* * *

The lessons continued throughout the week, and suddenly Gym became my favorite lesson. Despite the fact I didn't know where I stood with him, I treasured the moments I could hold such perfection, even for such a short time.

It was the beginning of Tuesdays lesson, the next day.

_I didn't notice I was being watched until I turned around and nearly bumped into a strong chest. I nearly fell over but two cold arms caught me at the last second._

"_Ah- I'm sorry." I apologized fretfully, and looked up._

_He looked down at me, a small smile etched on his face. His chest trembled under my hand as he chuckled. Heads turned at the beautiful, rare sound. I blushed and quickly removed my hands._

"_No matter," he smiled down at me. "Partner?" he offered his hand. I didn't really like the waltz, it was too slow and careful for my tastes, but I would dance it until the end of time if I had Jasper as my partner._

_Dayal clapped her hands to get the class's attention. "Ok guys? Lets continue." The rest of the lesson went by without incident, if you don't call "having the most perfect creature holding you" an incident, but every time his hand moved, even slightly, my heart would skip a beat and my arms would ache to throw themselves around him._

_When Dayal finally ended class he released my hands gently and smiled again. I released the breath I didn't know I had been holding unsteadily, unable to break his gaze. _

"_That seemed all too easy for you." He winked and chuckled. I held in a gasp. "Have you done that before?"_

"_Not the waltz." I shook my head unnecessarily, self-conscious, and was berating myself silently for being so uninteresting for this perfect person. "But I used to do ballet for a few years. I stopped late last year. School had to come first." I failed to mention that I was more-often-than-not looking for a partner to dance with me, but of course, no one wanted a partner my height. _Who wants to dance with a shortie like me?

_He smiled and looked away nervously. "Yeah, my aunt-" he stopped for a second before continuing "she encouraged me to dance." He confided to me in an embarrassed voice. "I did a bit of this and that, but when she… when we moved, I stopped." I blinked, surprised. He didn't strike me as the dancing type, but after that afternoon, it was impossible that he couldn't have danced before._

_I shook my head and crinkled my nose. "I don't like the waltz."_

_He was almost as surprised by my outburst as I was. He thought it over for a moment before nodding. _

"_Hmm, I suppose your right. It's a little too…"_

"_Forced?"_

"_Yeah. Forced. Dancing should be more of a natural thing, but when you waltz, your supposed to crane your neck back away from your partner… not only does it feel uncomfortable, its painful to watch…" His eyes were far away. He blinked and focused back on me. "What's your preferred dance, then? Ballet?" He smiled teasingly._

"_Haha- no. Actually I prefer dances like the Samba, they're more creative." I stopped myself, mortified. I hadn't meant to share that piece of information, but I meant every word. The samba was definitely a more sensual dance than the waltz (it didn't take that much to beat the waltz, though), and was considered to be one of the sexier dances._

_A mischievous smile crept onto his face for a second before he hid it. _

"_The Samba?" He raised his eyebrows, and chuckled. I flushed and smiled ruefully. _

"_Yes, the Samba. I took lessons for a while. My mother wasn't very impressed, but I found it a _fun-" _I grinned and he laughed at my cheeky expression, "way to relax and meet new people."_

"_And now?"_

"_And now nothing." I shrugged noncommittally. "There's not enough time on my hands."_

_He peered at me, looking past my vague explanation, as if to see into my very core. He frowned and appraised me, his expression confused._

"_No, I don't think that's it." he stopped himself before he got the question out, looked down and shuffled his feet. "Sorry, I shouldn't pry." He was too sweet for this own good- _if he keeps this up_, I decided, _he will get himself jumped by some poor girl- most likely me_._

_He tried to say something else, but his words were lost when Dayal announced the end of class. He was soon lost in the crowd._

_Disappointed, I located my friends at the back of the room. They turned to look at me again as I approached, amusement glinting in their eyes._

_Rose chuckled. "I need to have a word with Clapp, can you two wait for me?" She smiled at Bella and I pointedly._

_Emmett smiled widely, showing his dimples. "I'll wait for you, Rosie."_

"_As cute as that is, I think I'll have to pass. I'll call you when I get home." She walked over to the gruff coach and we waited by the change rooms patiently, Bella watching me from the corner of her eye mischievously._

_My perfect day was ruined right at the end of lesson. We, Bella and I, were waiting for Rosalie who was having a word with Clapp when..._

_The rest of the class walked past chatting and laughing. Lauren and Jessica rounded the corner last._

It was that afternoon that Jessica and Lauren cornered me after class. It was that afternoon I went home crying and it was the next day I came back to school, even more uncertain than ever.

* * *

_Despite my fears, he met me the next day at the main entrance with a smile. _

"_Alice."_

"_Jasper."_

_There were many different changes in Jasper. He was pleasant and, for some incomprehensible reason, had an interest in me. He sat next to me during English, my only class I didn't have with Emmett, Bella, Rosalie or Edward. We joked and shared stories throughout Government. Government lessons were usually notoriously known for being boring and it wasn't uncommon to come out of it hitting your head with a heavy textbook, trying to recover the circulation in you brain. But I didn't pay Jefferson any attention; my whole being was orbiting around the perfect creature next to me._

_He had even started sitting with us at the table at lunch. The crew, after an amused pause, included him in their conversations and debates as if he had always been there._

_It was Wednesday lunchtime and Bella was furious._

"_I dare you to…" Bella glanced around the lunchroom, thinking hard with a mischievous expression on her face. "Uh…"_

"_Ride home on Rose's old push-bike?" Jasper offered. "You know," he turned to his sister, "the small pink one with the flowers?" Bella was getting revenge on Emmett after he had started a bet on when her truck was going to die. Emmett was mortified and Bella cracked a grin._

"_But you can't make me do that! I've seen that old thing and Rose, no offence, but if I rode home on that, my reputation will never live it down."_

_Bella slammed her palms flat on the table and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Thank you Jasper, I think that's exactly what Emmett is going to do, aren't you Emmett? This will be the last time _anyone_ makes fun of my truck._

"_Ahaha, and to think, my new phone has great recording on it."_

"_Traitor! Traitor! Jasper Hale and Alice Brandon, you two are traitors!" He chuckled and glanced down at me, meeting my gaze. I was far away, thinking my options over._

_Sure, I could have talked to Rosalie, I could have involved Edward, I could have tried to cut him out of my life and move on, but I realized at that second that doing any of those, especially the third option, would probably kill me, inside out. If I told Edward or Rosalie, word of it would probably get to him eventually. When he found out he would stare at me with disgust and walk away. And if I succeeded to push him away from me, it would destroy me more thoroughly than if I threw myself under a bus. It was already too late to try anything- he was already my entire world. So I went for option five, the other option, and the last option: I would keep staring after him, even if he did end up walking away with Lauren in the sunset._

_The days went by and my favorite lesson of the day became gym class with Jasper._

"_Tell me more about yourself, Alice." He asked me on Thursday during gym, our second last dance lesson. "You're one of my sisters new friends and my new dance partner and friend and I don't know anything about you." He grinned, a rare thing before, but was something that had become steadily more common. We had talked ourselves through a variety of topics and we discovered to have a lot in common._

_I shrugged, confused by his curiosity. "Like what?"_

"_Anything. Tell me anything and everything."_

"_Only if you tell me things about your fantastic self." I was silent for a second. "My names Mary Alice Brandon."_

"_Jasper Hale."_

"_No middle name?"_

"_No, clearly Rosalie was good enough for a middle name, but me- I'm just Jasper… I was born in St. Joseph's Hospital."_

"_Hmph. I was born here in Forks General Hospital… My favorite chocolates are freckles- I like the colors."_

"_I'm your average chocolate frog kind of man. I won a Jag FX in a competition."_

"_Hmph- some people get all the luck. I don't own my own car and at the moment I am using one that used to be my grandmother's. But… I own a total of nineteen pairs of shoes."_

"_Nineteen? What do you do with them all?!"_

"_Oh yeah, I have a secret fetish for shoes…" I rolled my eyes and snorted. "I _wear_ them, Jasper, what do you think I do with them? I once met this girl who had twenty-nine pairs and she wears them all daily."_

"_It may be strange for you, but I only have five pairs, and I don't wear one pair very often…"_

"_Think of all the homeless shoes you leave behind, Jasper. They all need homes…you know, they put down the ones that no one likes…"_

"_Hmph. Anyway…" his expression was shrewd. "_I_ stopped dancing because it reminded me too much of my aunt." I was first hit by how hard it must have been for him to say that. Well, that was until I realized I had to answer with a similar comment._

"_Ah, that's cruel Jasper. I didn't want to say this…" I sighed. "Its not bad, really, or painful. Just embarrassing._

"_I… I wasn't bad a dancing. Quite the opposite, I felt good when I danced. Despite what my mother said, I would have continued to dance. Well, that was until this new girl came. She wasn't good a dancing, not really, she was just starting… I guess that's what made it that much more painful. So this new girl came along and my usual partner, Henry, left me to dance with her. After a lesson of watching everyone else dance, I confronted Henry about it." I looked into the distance, remembering… "He told me flatly that he had been waiting for another person, any other person to come along. He didn't care that she couldn't dance, all he cared about was that she was tall." I shrugged off the wince of pain that was brought back to me at that second and looked up again. "Its hard to dance with a person as short as I am, I suppose. I gave it up after that."_

_He continued to stare into my eyes even after I had finished the narrative. He winced._

_He was sympathetic. "I bet that hurt."_

"_Rejection hurts." I shrugged and looked away "Hmm… my favorite smell is washing powder."_

_We continued until the lesson was finished and everyone had gone home. When Clapp kicked us out of the gym, we moved to the front lawn, in front of the main office. It was so casual; we continued chatting and sharing random pieces of information. There was no one else I would have ever shared so much about myself to. I longed to know more about him and was anxious for him to know, and maybe even come to like, me._

"… _bright orange."_

_He chuckled for a second and cast me a look of amusement. "Bright orange? Hmm… well, my favorite crayon color would have to be… Gray."_

_He was very quiet for a second. His eyes were very far away, as if seeing something that wasn't there._

_He whispered very quietly, into the calm evening air in a pained voice._

"_My mothers name was Caitlin Nicholson Hale. My fathers name was Grey Hale." My heart thudded loudly in my chest as I watched his expression. His face was smooth, but his eyes betrayed the pain he was reliving._

_I had heard that the Hale twins were orphans, but I had never had the courage to bring it up with Rosalie, let alone Jasper._

_While I had only met him _properly_ a day before, it felt natural when I reached over and took his hand in mine. It felt right._

"_They were both lawyers, and my mom had just won this trial. They both went out for dinner with friends to celebrate and left Rosalie and I at home with a baby sitter. I can't remember her name, but she was nice. I would have liked her if…_

"_I can still remember when they called. It's all crystal clear. The phone had rung for a total of three rings before she, the sitter, picked it up. Her expression when they told her… I can still see it in my head._

"_I didn't totally understand and asked Rosalie, who was crying, what was going on. No one had told me properly and I was starting to panic…_

"_I don't think I ever recovered. Not really. Not, at least, before our move here. And when, after we moved to live with our Aunt and she… she had a heart attack in a pub for dinner. There were so many people… so many expressions of the same horror that I had seen on the sitter's face. All of them staring- staring at us." He leaned over and rested his head on my shoulder lightly and I moved my free hand and placed it on his head, gently patting his blond hair. I had wanted to run my fingers through it for so long, but I couldn't concentrate on my own pleasure when he was clearly in pain._

_We sat there unmoving for a great length of time- it could have been a minute, it could have been year and I didn't care less._

"_We were cursed, Rose and I, or so I thought at the time. I was already withdrawn after my parents left and her death didn't help. I thought I was never going to recover."_

"_You miss them?" I asked quietly._

_He sighed. "Every day."_

"_What changed?"_

"I_ changed. I changed because I-" he suddenly looked around at me, anxiety coloring his eyes._

"_Because you what?"_

"_Because I met you."_

_His eyes met mine and I blinked. His eyes darted back and forth, staring into each of mine, panicking._

"_Ah- I'm sorry, I wasn't meant to say-" He growled at himself and his words came out in a rush, "I've stuffed this up. I- you mean more to me than anyone else and while you hardly know me, I feel like I've known you forever… I… I-"_

"_My mothers name is Allison and my fathers name is Gregory." I interrupted him firmly. It didn't seem to sooth his anxiety._

"_I own a total of nineteen pairs of shoes and my life's goal is to go to Paris. My favorite color was pink, but now it's probably blue. I was a ballet dancer until the end of last year, but I prefer the Samba." I chuckled, quietly and continued when he attempted to butt in again. "I went to Forks Kindergarten where I met Bella Swan, when I started year 2, I met Edward Cullen, became friends with Emmett McCarty in year 4 and I met Rosalie Hale in a shoe shop earlier this year…I love chocolate freckles and will never own a dog. I drive my grandmothers old car and I am the shortest in our class. Nothing remotely tragic or interesting has ever happened to me. Until… well, the beginning of this school year._

"_I was, up until a three minutes ago, certain that I would never be happy. Never be _truly_ happy. I was certain that I would die alone." The word hung in the air for a second. We stared at each other for an endless second._

"_And I am certain that, Jasper Hale, I will never see anyone other than you again, _ever_, because I met you." It was my turn to shift uncomfortably and stare back at him anxiously. _

_His eyes smoldered under the smoky blue and he watched me, anxiety turning into amazement and awe._

_He scooped me up in one swift movement, a movement I almost missed because it was so quick, and held me into his arms._

"_Ah, Alice." He smiled contently and I grinned back, placing my hands on either side of his face._

_Mallory, eat your heart out._

* * *

I smiled to myself and rested my head against the back of the headrest, still blinded, and breathed in his scent.

"_You know me. You don't mind waiting.  
You just can't show me, but God I'm praying,  
That you'll find me, and that you'll see me,  
That you run and never tire.  
Desire."_

* * *

**A/N: Wow, that took a lot of effort. I did this chapter _three times-_ each of them different- before I came up with what you just read.  
****Ok, there isn't much time before the last chapter so… Review!**


	7. For You

**A/N: Sorry about the slow update, I could give you a pile of excuses, but, long story short, stuff has been popping up... aaannd whenever I get around to checking this over, I find that its riddled with flaws and poor sentence structure. Grr. So, after eight individual edits over this chapter and with no further head-way, I took up a beta, i kissed a cullen, who is not only a harsh (but good) beta, but also a good friend of mine (who is also very enthusiastic about adding beta notes... watch out :P) .  
Ok, last chapter so I better not rat on about nothings (BETA NOTE: I'm a nothing? Pfft I say!!!) And get to the important stuff.  
I'd like to thank everyone. All the readers, all the people who have ever opened this story, all the people who added this onto their alert list, all the people who have this one their favourites list (I was ecstatic), and a BIG thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You guys rock :) This has been my first story and all your support has gone further than you can imagine. **

**Disclaimer:** Nothing-nothing. I own nothing... except maybe the plot-line that (six out of seven chapter worth of time) lasts for roughly half an hour, while the _whole_ thing would only fill up a morning... Oh well, such is life.

And here is the final chapter of  
Your Call

Chapter Seven:  
_For You_

**

* * *

**

**Alice**

I heard the car boot slam shut. A second later I heard the passenger door open beside me and I was brought out of the pool of memories I had submerged myself in. He laughed apologetically as I sat up with a start, blinking furiously.

"Sorry for keeping you here so long, Alice. You could have waited in the sun, but I didn't think of that." He chuckled again and I felt his long fingers wrap around mine. "Take my hand; we go on blindfolded from here."

I grumbled at his all-too cheerful tone, but took his other hand and let him pull my out of the car.

I squealed loudly as he threw me over his shoulder as soon as my feet had hit the gravel.

"Ah, Jazz was that totally necessary?"

"No, you could walk, I suppose, but I prefer this way more, personally." His grip on me tightened. My fingers slid carefully around his neck to his face, and I found his lips pulled into a large smiled.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I accused teasingly.

His chest rippled under me as he laughed.

For a few seconds all I could hear was the sounds of his feet hitting the earth. He sighed happily after a minute and I felt his grip on me loosen and he placed me on my feet.

His cold hands snaked around the back of my head and untied the knot. "Here we are." The dark fabric slid across my eyes.

Slowly, I peeked through my lashes, wondering where he had taken me.

It was an almost perfectly circular clearing. It wasn't very large, but it was definitely beautiful. Luscious grass grew thickly and was almost like a carpet under my sandaled feet and we were surrounded by thick, dark forest. In the center of the clearing there was a large tree with welcoming branches, as if it was asking to be climbed. Under it was a large basket and an unrolled rug.

Despite its magnificence, I turned to the most beautiful thing in it: my Jasper. He was watching me silently, almost apprehensively, as if he was waiting for me to shout and demand to be taken home.

I took a measured step towards him, unable to take my eyes off of his face.

"Oh, Jazz." I threw my arms around him, and burying my face in his shirt, breathing him in. I looked up and feeble rays of light suddenly came out from behind the clouds, the strongest sunshine Forks could muster, "It's perfect." I breathed, craning my head up to look at him. He smiled, relieved.

"Only for you." He wrapped his long arms around me and held me close for a second before lifting me into his arms. I squealed and wiggled but he only laughed. After a few steps he placed me on the soft ground, carefully, as if I were I piece of china rather than a sturdy little human being. He plopped down next to me a second later.

He glanced at the sky. It had been overcast all that morning, and had only just stopped raining. The clouds were still threatening, but they had been pushed aside by the strong winds, and the sun had come out to brighten my special day.

I threw my head back; my face was peaceful as the few rays warmed my pale skin.

My lips pulled up at the edges as I smiled. I sighed luxuriously, and opened my eyes to look at my personal sun, moon and star. He pulled me into his arms and we stared at one another, getting lost in each other's eyes. Time suddenly seemed meaningless. I blinked as the truth of my thoughts dawned on me - I had my whole life ahead of me - my whole life to spend with him. Even a lifetime didn't seem long enough.

We sat there for so long, being comforted by each other's embrace when suddenly I heard a loud shout.

"_Hale!_ What have you done to my little sister?"

"Emmett..." I whispered, drawing myself out of the little world I had created. I blinked. "_Emmett_!" I sang louder, and turned my face away from my Jazz. His large frame appeared from the dark shadows of the forest a moment later. He bounded across the space in long gallops carrying a box so big, his thick arms strained, struggling to hold it. He was quickly followed by a grinning Rosalie, who was carrying her large basket of chocolate and a laughing Bella - she was carrying the small gift I had seen earlier in one hand, Edward's hand in the other.

Emmett struggled for a second, and placed the large crate-box on the ground next to the tree. Rosalie took advantage of this and made it to me first.

"Hand her over, Jasper- she's mine." Chuckling Jasper released his grip on me. I planted a kiss on his forehead and leapt to my feet.

_"Shopping fiend!"_

"Rose!" Her thin, perfect arms embraced me. She towered over me- she had to crouch slightly to hug me. She didn't seem to mind. Before I could get gather my bearings, Emmett's larger arms snatched me away

"Brother bear!" I choked from under his arms.

"Pixie!" His booming laughed filled the clearing, almost shaking the leaves off the tree. All I could see was the orange patterned shirt he was wearing and all I could smell was his deodorant... Or maybe that was just Emmett sweat.

"Ah, come on, Emmett, pass the parcel." I chuckled - that was exactly what I felt like. Edward's cold arms were around me for a fraction of a second, when Bella poked him in the ribs and threw her arms around me.

"_Psychic fairy-god mother-Ali_!"

"_Argh!_ My Cinder-Bella! My, have you grown!" She laughed that bell chime laugh I knew so well.

She took a small step back away from me. There was a sharp _click _and a bright flash of light. Her soft features curved into a smile as she inspected the Polaroid photo that had just been taken, and passed the camera to Edward.

"Ok," Edward poked Bella in the ribs lightly, making her squirm and take another step forward. "I think it's time for Ali's gifts now."

Bella smiled shyly and handed me the tightly wrapped, pink-wrapping-paper covered gift she had been keeping from me for so long. It felt like it should have been lighter than it really was as I weighed it in my hands. I glanced up at them, my friends, my family. They made reassuring movements and I looked down at the parcel again. Slowly I ripped the pink paper off of it.

It was a photo album. The cover would have been plain and boring except that Bella had clearly fixed it for me. The pastel pink plastic material had been painstakingly threaded with beads of all the colours of the rainbow, lightest to darkest, diagonally across. My fingers brushed over the beads lightly as I stared at it in awe. I knew exactly how dangerous Bella armed with a needle was and she must have pricked herself numerous for this. Still holding the album I sank my knees.

"Bella... Oh, Bella thank you!"

She smiled. "For you, Alice."

My bottom lip was sent trembling again as I opened it.

_Alice Brandon_ was written in large gold letter on the first page. I flipped to the next page quickly.

There was a little girl with dark brown hair sitting on one of the chunky plastic stools in the kindergarten. She was clearly laughing and her head was thrown back with delight, her cheeks a rosy red as she giggled. There was a smaller girl next to her with inky black hair and dark eyes, perched on the table in a fairy costume, a small grimace set on her face. Another girl with dark curly hair and a bossy pout on her face, Jessica, tied an absurdly large bow around her head.

"Haha, Alice, look at you! I can just hear you saying: _'but that yellow doesn't go with purple_!'" Emmett's laughed boomed loudly in my ears as he and the others crouched around me as I flicked through.

"Ah, I can remember that day," Bella smiled and sighed, "That photo was taken by my mother when she came to pick us up and found Stanley fixing your hair. It was hilarious."

"Yeah, maybe for you." I grumbled darkly and flicked the page, overly aware of the cool arm that had snaked around my waist.

"I think you look beautiful." I relaxed in his arms and my humor recovered slightly as he rested his head on my shoulder.

"Yeah, but you're Jasper, you always think she's beautiful."

There was a round of chuckles shared by my friends and I ignored them, inspecting the next page. Perfect.

"Ah-hah! That's enough laughing from you Edward. Lookie here!"

This time, there were three familiar figures in the photo. It was during one of my years of ballet and I had pestered Bella to come along with me and, much to his dismay, Esme forced Edward to come along too.

There were two little girls in the center of the photo; the brunette's hair was tied back into a bun while the other had her short hair in tiny pigtails. Between them was a sulky, bronze haired boy, the only boy one in the class. His ears were burning and everyone had stopped to stare at him.

Rosalie snorted in disbelief. "I didn't know you were a girl when you were younger, Eddie."

Edward growled and frowned. "Hmph! That was the only time. I only went to _one_."

"Haha," Bella chuckled and rested her finger under the younger Edward. "I remember! They were all looking at you when the teacher asked you to show your 'ballet hands'. Ah, poor Edward, I don't think I've ever seen you look so vulnerable than when you were in that ballet studio."

He looked away pointedly and grumbled while the rest of us had a good laugh at Edwards's expense. It's always better when you're the one doing the laughing.

"Can we please turn the page over, Alice? Please?" I chuckled once more and flipped the page to the next.

"Haha! Look at that!" Everyone cracked up with laughter except Emmett who was staring at the photo blankly.

"Hmm. That's interesting. Maybe we could use it as blackmail?"

"Haha, Emmett, I remember that."

The photo consisted of three figures, a younger, curly haired Emmett who was flanked by a younger Bella and Alice. His mouth (which was painted with pink lipstick) was open, his eyes were closed and his head was thrown back. In front of a hairbrush. In a sparkly pink dress. It was quite a sight.

There was another peal of surprised laughter from Jasper and Rosalie.

"Ah-hah, I remember taking that." Edward snickered.

There was a caption underneath_: Emmett McCarty, the next Spice Girl, "Spice up your life."_

"Embarrassed much, Emmett?" Rosalie turned, grinning wickedly, to her frozen boyfriend. There was absolute stillness for a fraction of a second as we watched his reaction. He burst out laughing.

"No way, that was one of the best afternoons, wasn't it girls?" He winked at Bella and I, and got to his feet.

_"All the colors of the world, Spice up your life! Every boy, every girl, Spice up your life!"_ He sang at the top of his lungs, and danced the routine we had put together all those years ago. _Click_. Bella, disbelievingly, took a Polaroid photo and stuck it next to the old one, writing a caption in her large, loopy scrawl: _Emmett Spice - Now and Forever._

Giggling, I flipped the page, and we continued. We pointed and laughed as we went along, making fun of each other without discrimination. The photos went up in chronological order, year by year.

_"Oooh!"_ We collectively exclaimed as we stared.

It was a photo of two food-soaked teenagers, not too much younger than themselves. It was colorful, to be certain.

"Ah-ha! That is one of my favorite Alice moments! That was right after we got a week's detention for the food fight." One of Emmett's sausage fingers poked at the photograph as we stared. I bent closer to get a better look.

If an artist had attacked us with paint, we wouldn't have been nearly as colored as we were than with the food. The younger Alice had messier hair than usual; there were bits of carrot stuck under it in clumps and the younger version of Emmett was in no better condition. Their usually pristine clothes were caked in... cake. And lettuce. And pineapple. And...just about every item from the cafeteria clung to the two figures, head to toe, as if the food was super-glued to them.

"Hah, I don't think I got the pizza topping out from under my fingernails for weeks. It was really gross." I laughed and pointed.

"Yup, but it was so worth it," Emmett added, joining his deep chuckle to my high one.

Edward sniggered. "I think that will be remembered for the years to come." He reached over to turn the page. I slapped his fingers away.

"My book: I get to turn the pages, Eddie-_poo_. Go practice your ballet hands or something." I turned the page, snickering.

We continued to flip over the photos of Emmett, Bella, Edward and I until we got to the first one I remembered taking.

I fingered the edge of the page lovingly as I smiled at the photo. I heard Rosalie and Bella chuckled quietly behind me.

It was the afternoon when we first met Rose. After buying the shoes, we continued the rampage Bella and I had started, but this time we had Rosalie and her camera with us. We had taken countless photos of us in the show shop and the one I was currently staring at was one of them. One of fifty-three, to be exact.

We had taken out another pile of shoes and had gone through them just as quickly as we had before. The photo had the discarded shoes piled up into a mountain on the carpeted floor of the shop with the three of us lying on top of them. Rose's hair was fanned around her. She was lying on the bottom of the frame. Her head was on the side, her eyes were closed and her bright red lips were pulled into a large smile as she laughed. Bella was in the top left corner of the shot; grinning ear to ear, her dark eyes were looking at something outside the frame. Security, maybe. I was in the right top corner of the photo. My dark blue eyes were staring at the camera and I had a cheeky sideways grin on my face. I had been the one who had taken that photo and the very edge of my arm was just visible along the frame.

Rosalie sighed luxuriously beside me, her warm breath tickling the side of my neck.

"That was the best day of shopping I've ever had."

I smiled and nodded, my eyes stinging with fresh tears. "Yes, and not just because of the amounts bought."

Bella giggled quietly from somewhere behind Roses shoulder. "Yes! Remember those red shoes I got?"

"Hah! The heels?"

"Oh, yeah... I remember those... I liked them. If only they were my size..."

"Girls? _Girls_?!" Emmett called desperately for our attention.

"Yes?"

"Emmett?"

"Huh? What is it, Em, you're interrupting girl time."

"Alice. Turn the page. Alice... turn the page please."

I rolled my eyes and pulled at the next page that consisted of Emmett, Rose and I rolling around in the snow, making snow angles.

A few pages later I saw the first photo with Jasper in it. My heart thudded in my chest and I felt his grip on my waist tighten. I tried to say something, but my throat was tighter than I had expected it to be, and I choked on the words.

It was at the end-of-year dance. Jasper and I had been "together", as Stanley put it, for only a few months when he asked me to go. I was ecstatic... putting it lightly.

I reached forward with small fingers towards the photo in front of me. I brushed over the bottom of the picture, and sighed happily.

The photo consisted of two lone figures in the middle of the dark gym. The lights were dim, but a few blurry figures of the other dancers in the background.

_There was a tall blonde seventeen-year-old staring down at a smaller figure I recognized instantly. Me. If the picture moved, the graceful figures would have been twirling slowly. He was so tall and she was so tiny, and yet they were so perfectly suited to one another, as if they had been created to be held by the others' arms. The simple tuxedo suited him completely and clung to his strong limbs well. His hair hung in his eyes as he watched the tiny figure in his arms with reverence. She stared back at him, her eyes sparkling like stars. There was no smile on her face. There didn't need to be one - they both knew that they had never been as happy as they had been then._

I blinked and looked away from the photo to meet the eyes of my Jasper. He was already watching me, the same reverence in his eyes.

"Alice." He murmured quietly, his face inches from mine.

"Jasper." I reached forward and placed my hand on the side of his face. It was enough.

"_Oh, Emmett_. Yes Rosalie? _Emmett you are so sexy_. Oh yes, Rose, I know and it is a burden I will happily bear."

There was a loud _"smack" _following Emmett's oh-so-subtle intrusion and he sniggered.

"Emmett!" Rose hissed. I laughed breezily while Jasper glared and got to my feet. In a swift movement Emmett (who was looking very happy with himself) and Edward got to their feet after me and helped their respective partners to their feet as well. Jasper was on his feet a second later.

I took a small step back and drank in the sight. They were all standing in a loose semi-circle around me- each of them smiling. My friends.

"Bella, pass me the camera!" Her throw was clumsy but I caught it before it hit the ground.

_Click_. Bella leaning awkwardly to one side, was still unbalanced from the throw, Edward's hands were automatically reaching out to catch her, his copper hair flying back, Emmett with his head thrown back laughing, a large grin set on his face, Rosalie grinning slyly at Emmett, and Jasper, the only one looking anywhere near the camera, staring at me.

_Click._

Bella Swan, with her chocolate hair, her poor lying skills and her beautiful smile... she refused to believe was as perfect as it was.

Edward Cullen, tall and lanky, with his bronze hair that stuck up in every direction no matter how much gel you put in it (I'd know) and that crooked smile of his that he could never straighten out.

Emmett McCarty, so immature, but still so capable of being as supportive as a wall made of the strongest stone, with his curly hair and his deep dimples and his inescapable muscles and bear hugs.

Rosalie Hale, tall and devastatingly beautiful, her long legs holding up her light frame, her feet bound in the sliver shoes we had bought when we first met in that shoe shop, someone I could go to to cry my eyes out.

Jasper Hale, the other twin, tall and muscular- but not Emmett-kind-of-muscular (a good thing in my opinion), kind, caring, compassionate, the only one for me, my one and only, my other half, my Jazz.

My friends captured in a single second as I saw them. Perfect.

"Oh! Emmett!" Bella poked him in the shoulder, clearly remembering something. "Um... the crate?"

"Oh." His face brightened and he grinned. I got a flash of his deep dimples before he turned back to the tree. Jasper shot me a sideways smile and took my hand, and pulled me after Emmett as well.

There was a loud crack, but I was unable to see past Emmett's large frame Just as I leaned sideways to get a peek at whatever Emmett was opening, Jasper and Bella, both with apologetic smiles on their faces, slid in front of me hiding him from view.

"He'll be done in a second." Bella laughed quietly and winked.

"Not even a crate that big will stop me from helping my baby sister on her birthday!" Emmett yelled over another "crack" as the crate was opened roughly.

"Argh! Emmett don't-! Be careful, you'll ruin it!" Rosalie reprimand sharply.

"Yes, mom. Hang on... ew! If you were my mother... well, that's just wrong... I can't think of my _mother like that_..."

"...too much information, Emmett. I'm getting really, really bad mental pictures here."

_Crack_

"Ah, there we go."

"Saved by the bell eh, Emmett?" Edward snickered.

Bella darted behind me and placed her small hands over my eyes.

"What is it today? Blind Alice Day?"

"Just for a second, Ali, it's ok." I felt Jaspers hand on my shoulder, comforting me.

"But... but..."

Rose laughed, "You always figure everything out, Alice. Give us this one opportunity to surprise you." I grumbled but didn't say anything else- Bella was moving me forward.

"Watch your feet."

With one of my senses cut off, I automatically relied more on the others, so it was natural that suddenly I could focus on what I could smell. I knew the surprise before Bella had her hands off of my eyes.

But I wasn't prepared for this.

I blinked, totally surprised.

"Oh wow." There, sitting on the bottom of the crate it had been carried in, was the biggest, brightest cake I had ever seen. The biggest birthday cake anyway.

Large and pink, this cake was as big as the wedding cakes I had seen in brochures. Over-the-top big. Emmett big. Though that didn't surprise me since Emmett's mother was a chef and had probably helped create that monster of a cake.

"Happy birthday Alice!"

"Emmett!" I sprinted forward and into his enormous arms. "Argh, it's almost the same size as me!" I released him quickly to inspect my newest gift. I circled it slowly, my mouth hanging open.

_Click_. Bella took another photo with the Polaroid camera.

"Happy Birthday, Alice!" They were laughing and teasing me all at once but all I could do was gape in amazement at what they had managed to pull off.

I'd heard about all those big birthday parties were hundreds of people are invited, there are big name musicians to entertain the invited, presents the size of yachts for the birthday boy or girl, enough champagne to fill a pool with and a fireworks show to finish the night off. But I knew that none of that would have impressed me like the small party my friends had thrown for me today.

I didn't need big named artists to lip-synch for me when I had my friends to shout at the top of their voices the "Happy Birthday" song for me with _real_ emotion- I had Emmett and a few packets of skittles if I wanted entertainment anyway. I didn't need presents the size of yachts, not when I had been given a cake that weighed the same amount as I did or a photo album that had been produced when the creator risked poking her fingers off with the needle. I had enough chocolate from Rosalie to bathe in- I didn't need a pool. And who needed a fireworks show when I had a beautiful ceiling of pale clouds above me?

"Ha-ha, look at your face, Alice! Finally, we've managed to surprise the un-surprisable! Yes!" Bella did her little happy dance and had to be caught by Edward a second later.

"Knives, everyone!" Rose danced around the group, singing and handing out dangerously sharp knives to each of us.

"What are the knives for, Rose? Is it a battle to the death or what?"

"Why? Is that what you want Alice? It can be arranged if you'd like." She grinned mischievously at Emmett as she passed the sharp instrument to him.

She laughed. "No, these aren't _people_ knives, I left those at home. These are for eating the cake with. Why?"

I eyed the knife in Bella's hand while I waited for mine.

"Because this is going to end in bloodshed."

* * *

Ten minutes later with no bloodshed (only because Edward spoon-fed Bella the cake) everyone was sprawled in their own part of the field, chatting with one another while they digested. Rosalie was sitting under the tree, egging Emmett on to eat the final piece of the monstrous cake he had baked for me. He groaned and shoved the final piece in as I watched. Edward and Bella were lying together on the edge of the clearing murmuring to each other in low voices. She was resting her head on his chest and was slowly falling asleep.

I sighed, content and full to the brim with Rosalie's chocolate and Emmett monster cake. I fell back into the thick soft grass, looking at the clear blue sky above me. I blinked at the beauty and looked away, only to meet something even better.

His light blue eyes were on me. After the initial shock of seeing my other half again, I started to feel comfortable in his presence. Not ungrateful- no, I counted each second I shared with him- but I was at ease with him; being around him was as natural to me as breathing. The cool air that swirled around us gently caressed his gold hair. Watching his hair ripple in the breeze, I realized I envied that wind.

I shifted uneasily, trying to stop the flow of emotion that ran through me. I glanced around, searching for a new topic and my eyes caught on the unrolled rug (that was now half covered by Emmett's broken crate) and the mysterious, closed basket. Was this the present? Did he even have a present? I wasn't usually the type of person that needed to fill the silence, but my curiosity got the better of me.

"So... what's with the basket?" He smiled ruefully at me and tilted his head to one side.

"Hmm..."

Slience.

"What, is that is? _Hmmm?!_ That's not fair, Jasper Hale."

He shrugged and grinned teasingly. "But winding you up is exceedingly fun."

I blinked, annoyed without a good reason. I waited for him to add something, but he seemed totally content with watching me. After another second filled with only his teasing smile I attempted to get to my feet. His expression changed instantaneously from a lazy grin to a slightly alarmed blanch. His hand caught gently around my wrist keeping me still. I stared pointedly and he shrugged, clearly embarrassed.

"Ok, ok." He sighed. "But this is..." He coughed, grinning abashedly, "embarrassing. _Slightly_ embarrassing.

"Today, despite how it has turned out, was totally planned. It was supposed to be warm and sunny- which it is- but I didn't expect any of Fork's typical rain. I had planned to bring you out here to give you your present- and while you might not totally believe me- all of this was supposed to happen before 7:30- just as it was warming up. You know, romantic and everything, and all this was supposed to happen before Bella called you."

"You knew about the whole text thing?"

"No, I got Rose's message about the whole 'secret Alice present thing' when we got to my house and for that I'm sorry." His smile became apologetic. It was heart breaking. "So instead of coming to pick you up nice and early like I had promised, I was out here trying to save my preparations from the rain and the damp grass that was left over."

Wait... _what_?

"So... you weren't trying to create suspense by leaving me at home or...?"

He laughed. "Alice..." he seemed to taste the word as it passed through his lips. "Alice, I'm not capable of holding out on you with anything."

While I had heard it was a scientific fact that the human heart could explode with emotion I couldn't believe it at that moment. What had I done to find such a perfect person?

"I did have something planned this morning, but then our fabulous friends joined us. I'm thankful, actually, I'm sure what they came up with is better than I could pull together." His lips pulled up at the corners, amused and embarrassed simultaneously.

"The basket?"

He only laughed. "That, my dear Alice, is for another time."

He reached across the small space between us and brushed a lock of stubborn, dark hair off my face and behind my ear. I shivered under his touch, totally sidetracked. He was _really_ good at that.

I had seen Bella with her Edward. I had seen Rosalie with her Emmett. Their relationships were as different to ours as salt is to sugar. They needed to be touching, talking. I didn't need that. I had Jasper, and even looking at him would have been enough.

But, then again, he was kinder to me than I ever thought anyone could ever be and graced me more than just with his presence.

My heart thudded in my chest dangerously as he inched, slowly, slowly towards me. A sly smile crept over his face and his eyes were alight with a fierce pleasure that escaped me. How could _he_ be happy when _I_ had the most important person in the world in front of me? He took my hand.

He hummed gently in my ear, a soothing melody I had never heard before. His cheek brushed against mine.

"Alice," he breathed, saying my name with reverence. He brought me closer and sighed contently. The air from his lips grazed along my cheek.

"Alice, my one, my only." He breathed in my ear, his voice tender. "I know that coming late today must have distressed you more than anyone else guessed, and for that I'm sorry."

I couldn't stand it. I tried to interrupt.

"No- it doesn't-" He stopped me by placing a long, pale finger over my mouth, his eyes glittering.

"No, it does matter, Alice. _You_ matter." His other hand that was grasping my shoulder tightened.

His hand disappeared into a small bag beside him I hadn't noticed. He pulled out a brochure.

"For you." He pressed the folded paper into my hands.

The brochure was average looking. There was the usual bright colour scheme and large words printed over the cover in bold text. But it was what the text said that made it a gift.

_Samba_

I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I've booked us into a few lessons." They were simple enough words, but the way he said them, with the apologetic smile and everything, was what melted me inside out. He was an _astute_ one. I never stood a chance.

"Jazz. I... you have no idea how much I ..." It was more than that. Being rejected as a partner was hard, a few months later and I still felt as hurt as ever. The gift he was _really_ giving me was a partner who didn't need to be begged to dance with, a partner who didn't care that I was short. He was so tall and I was tiny, even next to normal people, and he wanted to be with me anyway. It meant so much more than just a few lessons. And, even better, I could spend this time with the most fantastic person in the universe.

"I was going to give you this anyway. This isn't the present. I brought you here to give you a promise. Something that anyone could give you, but no one could mean it as much as I do.

"I promise to always come when you need me. I promise you'll never have to be alone." His words sent a shiver of remembrance up my spine. My throat constricted, and while I wanted to tell him it didn't matter to me, that I didn't need him to promise me anything, I couldn't get the words out.

He brushed a lock of dark hair off my face. He watched me for a second before continuing. "Anyone could say that, and that's not the real promise- you have all those from me already." He smiled, a bitter edge in his voice. "Any guy off the street would make sure you were never alone."

Lauren's words came back to me, hitting me like hammers. _At least I'm not alone... I've seen you around that new kid, the Hale boy. It's sad- no, it's worse than that... It's pathetic..._

"No," I whispered, frowning. "None of them have ever cared. None of them ever will."

My tone surprised him and he grimaced.

"Not true," he told me grasping me tighter. "You might not see it but they all watch as you walk by. They all stop to help when you need it." He laughed bitterly.

"Not true." I echoed. "Without you, I would be alone. A... a fifth wheel in a group of couples. No one sees me the way you do. All the others are watching _you_ walk by."

He exhaled sharply and stared at me, concerned. "And you accuse Bella of not seeing herself clearly... and as for all those... dull women who watch me- none of them have ever mattered. The second I met you; you became what none of them had ever been. You became... my world, my everything. I'm not explaining this properly..." He paused and shook his head, berating himself.

"I was lucky, really, that you weren't already taken when I finally turned up. But that's not the point I was trying to make here." He moved his hands so they were on either side of my face. He stared deep into my eyes like they were the only things on the face of the planet.

"They've all given you their gifts to celebrate your existence. Now it's my turn. I could give you a nice iPod, or even your weight in cake and icing, but none of that will mean as much to you as you mean to me."

"I promise _you_ Alice Brandon," he whispered quietly, _adoringly,_ to me. The words became music when they passed through his lips, "to love and care for you until the day I die." The words were simple enough, but his expression said everything his mouth couldn't. I stared, totally frozen, the adoration that was brimming inside of me flooding through my eyes. He had always been able to read my emotions, sometimes better than I could.

I sniffed as small tears started to build up in front of my eyes. My world became blurred at the edges and Jasper, the center of my world, shone. My bottom lip trembled for a second. "Oh Jasper." Unable to stand it anymore I threw my small, thin arms around him. He held me even closer, whispering quietly in my ear.

"I love you."

I sniffed again into his shirt. I looked up to see his face. He was so close. I inched closer, slowly, slowly, closing the distance between us.

"I love you too."

**

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**A/N: Ok really long A/N coming up- you don't have to read the first... two paragraphs- these are just ramblings. So, first of all, two points about this chapter before we say goodbye. 1. I got hold of a Polaroid camera for my Uncle's wedding and it was the best. If you ever have the opportunity to use one- take it. 2. While I used to not believe this- surprise birthdays are not dead. My friends threw me a surprise birthday so it is still possible. So, if you can, do it. **

**Oh, ooh! I've got a third, last-minute note that has been bugging me for ages! The Basket! (Dun-dun-duun) When I first imagined this scene it was there- so I came up with a story about what it was for. I mean, what would Jasper end up doing if the others hadn't shown up? He, of course had a plan. So there is a huge, untold story about what's in that basket- one that I don't have time to tell. I know what it was for, but no one else would. And no one probably will. What a pain. So you are all allowed to abuse me over my picky-ness about minuscule details and pointing them out in long, unnecessary Authors Notes only not to tell you. Trust me, I would be jumping up and down with irritation if it was me. Wow... I'm really good at talking about the unnecessary. **

**I am thinking about making a sequel. It wouldn't be a A/J one, I don't think... But it will start roughly where this one finished. What do you think? Nothing is set in stone yet.**

**And that's all folks...wow, it's done. I could probably go on forever, but I think it's done as it is. Ok, once and for all, I would like to thank all the readers of my story, thanks for coming along for the ride with me. A big and special thank you to all of the reviewers (and to one or two in particular, you guys know who you are) I present you with an invisible cake. Yay cake :P  
I don't know what I'll do with the next few days, I've done nothing much but write this for two weeks running: planning then writing. I guess there will be another story from me not too far away. But for now...**

**Farewell, my pretties!**

**PS from my beta the Grammar Nazi (and walking encyclopaedia): RAWR! :)**


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